
k 



r 



SENTIMENTS 



RESIGNATION. 



•SENTIMENTS 



ON 



RESIGNATION, 



BY RGSEWELL MESSINGER, 

i?4ST0R OF THE FIRST CHURCH IN YORK, MAINE? 



{[ Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right ?\ 



COPY RIGHT SECURED ACCORDING TO LAW. 



If 1876. | 

PORTSMOUTH, JST. H. 
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR^ 

MY W. TREADWEU. 

1807. 



Jb the Patrons of the Work 



FgR more than two years the Author has been deprived 
of sight, and left to the awful and sublime perception of 
total darkness. Through the vicissitudes of excruciating 
pain, and tiresome debility, and through repeated scenes 
of alarming sickness in his family, he has personally sup- 
plied the pulpit, and produced by the aid of an amanuen* 
sis the following work. The greatest part of it has been 
Studied when the springs of life were so far exhausted, 
that he had reason to apprehend a speedy removal to 
that world, where the hope of the hypocrite shall perish j 
but the resigned soul shall enjoy with rapture the purq 
effulgence of eternal day. 

The generous patronage, which the work has received, 
is gratefully acknowledged, Should its merit be insuffi- 
cient to remunerate the liberality of the patrons, they will 
resort to the consciousness of being promptly disposed to 
encourage industry, and to befriend the honest exertions 
of a fellow mortal. The author is forbidden to aspire af- 
ter scientific distinction. While Homer, Milton, and 
Saunderson, inherit the heights of fame, his greatest de« 
j&ire is to be found in a humble attitude at the feet of Jesus. 

Should 



fi 



Should he ever be assured that his labours have been in* 
strumenCal in dissolving the dream of security, in dimin* 
ishing the empire of despondency, and in planting the 
smile of resignation amidst the tears of the orphan and 
bereaved pilgrim, he will obtain a rich reward. 

— : " Thus with the year 

i6 Seasons return ; but not to me returns 

u Day, or the sweet approach of ev'n or morn, 

* l Or* sight of vernal bloom, or summer's rose, 

" Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine ; 

€c But clouds instead, and ever during dark 

61 Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men 

" Cut oH*, and for the book of knowledge fair 

" Presented with an universal blank 

" Of nature's works, to me expung'd and rasVJ, 

u And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out. 

C{ So much the rather then, celestial light, 

" Shine inward, and the mind thro' all her powers 

Irradiate, there plant eyes, all mist from thence 
u Purge and disperse, that I may see and tell 

Of things invisible to mortal sight," 

MILTON, 



CHAPTER I. 

Page, 

General observations on the importance of 
resignation—*-* — « — - — — — — ? 

CHAPTER II. 

Resignation considered as it regards the 
renunciation of objects — - — — *~-^-«---28 

CHAPTER III. 

designation considered as it regards the exercises 
of the heart and mind in meeting the events of _ 
divine Providence—— — — — — — —45 

CHAPTER IK 
A serious question concerning resignation examined — $1 

CHAPTER V. 
Counterfeit resignation exposed - =——.—.120 

CHAPTER VI. 
^The influence of resignation upon the passions*-- —15S 

CHAPTER VIL 

"The influence of resignation on disposition and 

character — - — * 180 

CHAPTER Villi 
The influence of resignation on devotion-'— 19| 

CHAPTER IX. 
Ithe influence of resignation on the sentiments of 

mortality — — - - « — —216 



1 



SENTIMENTS 

ON 

RESIGNATION. 



CHAPTER I. 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE IMPOR- 
TANCE OF RESIGNATION. 



alluring attributes, happiness presents herself 
within the discernment of every mortal eye. 
Her influence, though in different degrees, is 
universally felt. By some, nothing more than a 
transient moment seems to prevent her embrac- 
es"; while others view her at a dark and bewil- 
dering distance. She excites a trembling hope 
in the bosom of the wretched, a more glowing 
'expectation in the sons and daughters of pros- 
perity, a consoling assurance in great and gen- 
erous souls, and is not entirely excluded from 
the dreams of the desperate. From the sen- 




LOTHED with an assemblage of 



B 



timents 



fO SENTlMEWrS on RESIGNATION'. 

timents of misery, the vanity of the past, anS 
the incompetency of the present, we incessant- 
ly call upon futurity to -lead us into that scene 
of bliss, which an unyielding and tireless fancy 
continues to portray. Curiosity has often been 
baffled in searching for the motives, by which 
mankind, in such variety of -courses, are. con- 
tinually actuated. The mystery, however, dis- 
solves, when it is -considered* that they are all 
striving- to evade the empire of misery and to 
enjoy the smiles of happiness. The man, who 
tills the ground, is constantly aiming at this ob- 
ject. The very strokes, under which the oak 
and the thorn are subdued, delusively measure 
his advances to happiness. The very sweat of 
his brow and the pangs of fatigue are made to 
mark the gradual diminution of those hours, 
which are to elapse previous to the crowning 
of his wishes. The mariner, through an ad- 
venturous and toilsome series of enterprize, is 
in search of that repose, which is the special 
property of happiness. His heart is daily re- 
plenished with the fervours of hope, and a hope 
that looks forward to the most enamouring fe- 
licity. Hence it is no longer marvellous, that 
he -tears himself from the scenes of domestic 
•life, the bosom of his fair companion, and the 
endearments of his blooming offspring ; and 
perhaps more from the solicitude of natural af- 
fection, than from the influence of faith, com- 
cnits them to the tender protection of the Di- 
vinity. To day, he sets a restless foot on the 

verdenl 



SENTIMENTS o» RESIGNATION. U 



verdant shores of the east ; to-morrow, he ex- 
plores the trackless regions of the west ; but en- 
joyment both here and there eludes his embra- 
ces. The philosopher espouses a different style 
of energy and employment, but is actuated by 
the influence that arises from the prospect of 
happiness and renown. With- indefatigable 
steps, he ascends^ the acclivities of science, and 
hopes for the time, when the tremulous glim- 
merings of the nightly lamp will die away ia 
the blissful effulgence of literary glory. 

Alas, to what effect are all the toils of man, 
without a spirit of reconciliation to the divine 
will ! Restlessness and dissatisfaction are in- 
separable from our existence, till resignation 
obtain a residence in our hearts. The labours 
of the field y the hazardous travels of the mari- 
ner, and the powerful researches of the philoso- 
pher, are justly eulogized by genius and wisdom ; 
but are consecrated to worth and excellence by 
a submissive reliance on God* and the smiles of 
his reconciled countenance. Destitute of a pi- 
ous resignation, they would amount to no great- 
er advantage, than to dissipate the vapours of 
indolence, beguile the hours of life, or extend 
the, boundaries of knowledge, and thus ; multi- 
ply the sources of infelicity. Anxiety and dis- 
content, with a thousand corroding perplexities, 
find an early access to our bosoms j nor is it in 
the province of the most officious imagination 
and industrious ingenuity to allay, at ail times, 
their poignancy, or to consign them to forget- 

fultless* 



22 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



fulness. An acquiescence in the Divine Sover- 
eignty, an enlightened view of the character of 
G®d, raise the soul above the horrours of ca- 
lamity. An innocent pliability is fruitful of ad- 
vantage in the concerns of society. In this 
way, without the least sacrifice of integrity, ma- 
ny precious moments are rescued from tumult 
and violence,, and the rigour and asperity of ma- 
ny natural and civil evils are evaded. An open 
and violent resistance against the power of fash- 
ion, and the current manners of the day, ex- 
pose us to a far greater hazard, than a retreat 
from their influence. The bold and daring ce- 
dar of the mountain is demolished by the same 
tempest, that is out-lived by the pliant willow 
of the garden. 

Such are the effects of pliancy in the common 
concerns of life. Submission to the divine will 
relates to matters of infinite moment and reali- 
ty, and is capable of affording the most signal 
advantages to those, who experience its sacred 
influence. In every condition, it affords a re- 
lief from our burdens and support to our souls. 
It constitutes a refuge, to which the soul re- 
pairs with composure, and views, with a reveren- 
tial smile, that irresistible hand, which con- 
trouls the thunder and directs the storm. Here, 
under the healing effusions of the spirit, the 
throbbing artery of woe is quieted, and the heart 
is alive with delightful sensations. Here, the 
love of existence mingles with the love of God, 
and gloriously triumphs over the cares and ca- 
lamities of time. nni 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



IS 



The enjoyment of the present state depends, 
for its purity and permanence, upon resigna- 
tion. All the pleasures in the wide field of ir- 
reconciliation are sordid and worthless. The 
sources, whence they arise, are corrupt. Thus 
the streams are intermingled with many subtle 
and noxious ingredients, through their various 
and enchanting windings. They are tasted with 
unbounded avidity, but never fail to leave a 
poisonous and deadly sediment in the heart. 
The ever busy wheel of vicissitude brings ob- 
jects into view, that excite attachment, then 
sweeps them away, and leaves the world to lan- 
guish at the altar of bereavement. Acquisi- 
tion and- loss alternately reign from the lowest 
paths of poverty and wretchedness to the high- 
est walks of earthly magnificence and greatness, 
The joys that arise from these precarious scenes 
are subject to the same derelktwt with the ob- 
jects that afford them. The moment, in whidU 
riches and affluence have made their flight from 
the arms of their boasted possessor, has been 
frequently darkened by some direful catastro- 
phe. My joy is fled ! wretchedness overwhelms 
me ! cries the graceless coward, while he directs 
the poniard to his heart. Others, from a loss 
of lesser toys and the removal of those objects, 
which have held an enchantment upon them, 
have wandered hopeless exiles into the realms of 
woe. 

To what dreadful miseries, are we continual* 
ly exposed, without resignation ? A thousand 
B z joys 



14 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION* 



joys expire in their birth ; others just begin to 
be felt and are swept away by the hand of ca- 
lamity ; and if a few are destined to a longer 
continuance, they are stripped of their charms 
by their sameness, poisoned by disappointment, 
and languish into oblivion. Ah ! how often 
do we outlive ourselves, breathe and act, while 
every delightful sensation of existence is banish- 
ed from the bosom. Resignation procures us 
joys, that mock the ruins of change, that retain 
their excellence under all the bereavments and 
trials of the present state. The unresigned are 
not only liable to be deserted by their joys, but 
their hearts are incessantly exposed to a shower 
of arrows from every grievous visitation of Prov- 
idence. These arrows are barbed by the stings 
of conscience and imbrued in the poison of re- 
morse y they enter the heart, whence each en- 
deavour to extract them gives additional poig- 
nancy, till every nerve of paifl vibrates under 
their corroding influence. The wounds, that 
are inflicted upon the children of submission, 
are painful for the instant, but are neither dan- 
gerous nor destructive. They are often con- 
verted into drains, through which, are convey- 
ed from the heart, the seeds of moral distemper 
and carnal pollution. In the bosoms of the re- 
signed there is a temple, the residence of the 
Holy Spirit, and of happiness. Repairing to 
this, they are free from the annoyance of spir- 
itual enemies, and injuries from the wiles of sa- 
tan ; anu they are unmolested by the powers of 
disaster and death, t?™™ 



SENTIMENTS ok RESIGNATION, IS 



From the day, that man was exiled from the 
garden of God, public as well as private calam- 
ities have constituted much of the complexion 
of every age. War, that insatiable ravager, has 
travelled through the wide realms of mortal ex- 
istence. The most sequestered retirement and 
peaceful seclusions have been darkened by its 
horrours and stained by its bloody footsteps. 
Revolutions, like the waves of a shoreless ocean 
have rolled on the world, constantly bringing 
into view an infinite variety of evils. Changes, 
effected under the empire of human passions, 
and events, produced by the influence of pride, 
luxury, and vice, stand in dismal aspect before 
the trembling eye of meditation. Innocence; 
itself often mourns for an asylum. By no eva- 
sions suggested from wisdom and art, can we 
hope to be rescued entirely from the experience 
of these general calamities. While man can 
feel the grief of man, while the tear of sensibili- 
ty starts at the inspection of distress, wherever 
it is found in human form, while the filaments 
ot attachment are woven from heart to heart, 
by the reciprocity of benevolent sentiments, 
and the dissolving of them, either by banish- 
ment or death, is distressful ; while we are sus- 
ceptible of melancholy from grievous dispensa- 
tions ; while all these are realities, the tidings of 
calamity will frequently knock at our doors, 
alarm our richest repose, leave us to distraction 
of thought, and open our bosoms to the inva- 
sion of terrour. 

Resignation 



16- SENTIMENTS' On RESIGNATION, 



Resignation is a defence against the dis- 
heartening and overwhelming influence of pub- 
lic calamities. It renders supportable a view 
of the ruins of human glory, by awakening the 
sentiments of immortality. It inspires a pleas- 
ing serenity,, while we pass the early tomb of 
genius and piety, and wraps us in reverential si- 
lence, when we discover the impious villain in 
the tenure of a long life. It discerns a con- 
trouling agency, which it dares neither to deny 
nor to mock. Without submission,- we groan 
under the rigour of present trials, which are al- 
ways enhanced from the intrusion of torment- 
ing apprehensions. How much does it abate 
from the joys of an affectionate mother, when 
she looks on the attracting face of her child, 
with* a. heart alive to the fine fervours of natur- 
al affection, then turns to view that world of 
trouble and danger,, through which it is doom- 
ed to pass ! Love becomes anxious, and lo- 
sing sight of heaven, repines at the. destinies of 
Providence. 

The daughter of resignation is inspired with' 
more noble sentiments ; she looks with tender- 
ness on her offspring, and cheerfully conveys 
them to Christ, and to the guidance of that be- 
ing who protects the slumber of the cradle, and 
the strength of age, and equally notices the death 
of the sparrow and the ruin of a kingdom. 
Submissive souls, always confiding in the recti- 
tude of heaven, and being presented with en- 
larged views of the divine government, rise 

above 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION, It 



above the world, and feel the triumphs of grace, 
while philosophy and all its munitions are turn* 
bling to nothing. The slavery, into which we 
are decoyed or forced by our passions, is dis- 
solved under the influence of resignation. 
When we submissively feel our alliance with 
God, we are afraid to wander from his presence,, 
into the bewildering mazes of carnal extrava- 
gance. While pride has an allowed abode m> 
our hearts, the whole train of evil passion- com- 
bine their officious agency, in procuring atir ru- 
in. Every generous sentiment is extinguished^ 
and every manly energy of the soul is suppressed. 
The fumes of passion incessantly brood on the 
mind with mingled^ heat and darkness, and 
conceal the excellence of every object^ that is 
worthy our aspiration, 

A variety of remedies is prescribed to recov- 
er us from the controul of unhallowed desire. 
We are instructed to follow the dictates of rea- 
son and moral virtue. We are sometimes ex- 
horted to tear ourselves from the glare of those 
objects, which feed our passions, to move into 
the shades of retirement, and to bury our pro- 
pensities in the ashes of mortification. We 
are sometimes directed to the rigid law of self- 
denial, and are urged to an ascendency over our 
passions, by all the rewards of future fame. 
Again we are told to tread forever in the paths 
of harmless amusement. But the dormant state 
of our evil inclinations, their bare suppression, 
their concealment under the specious forms of 

virtue 



18 



SENTIMENTS ott RESIGNATION; 



virtue, leave it to uncertainty, whether they are 
eradicated, and whether the soul has actually 
triumphed over their influence. Resignation 
restores us to a, consciousness of what we are, 
and excites a prevailing inclination to become 
what we ought to be. It calms, into quietude 
and silence, the most violent agitations of the 
soul, and gives a crystal clearness to those troub*- 
led waters,, which, under the influence of pas*- 
sion, are in awful commotion, It demolishes- 
the pride of our hearts and as the removal of 
a tyrant and his auxiliaries restores a world to 
liberty and enjoyment, so the banishment of 
pride, under the power of submission, opens the 
heart- to the most delicious sensations and salu^ 
fcary exercises. Here the tinsel rhapsodies of 
imagination are dissolved. . Lust and desire, 
with all their extravagances, are thrown into a 
dissolution, which their own excesses could not 
procure. That haughty spirit, which poured 
its satire against God and heaven, subsides, and 
leaves an entrance to that thoughtful reverence, 
which observes a Deity in the sparkling visage 
of the diamond, and an unerring rectitude in all 
the footsteps of Providence. Those exalted 
sentiments of the Divinity, which resignation 
never fails to excite, wing the soul alike from 
the slavery of passion, the violence of lust, the 
allurements of pleasure, and the false glare of 
secular greatness. 

Ye men of the world, whose bosoms have 
harbored passions, that philosophy has toiled 

in 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. W 

in vain to subdue ; passions and lusts, that 
have scarcely been suspended by the loudest 
thundering of adversity ; cast your eyes for 
once upon some fair daughter of resigned sor- 
row ; behold her tears, they speak of her heart, 
of heaven, of God ; their eloquence is free 
from sophistry, free from pride; and suppress, 
if you can, a desire to partake of the heavenly 
fruits of submission. Resignation is indis- 
pensably necessary to the acquisition of useful 
truth. The possession of divine truth, and 
a hearty attachment to its unalterable excel- 
lence, reinstamp us with the image of glory, 
and give us a participation in pleasures, that 
are sublime and lasting. This is an object, 
which is worthy the researches of an immortal 
mind. It rewards exertion, not with meretri- 
cious ornaments, but with incorruptible hon- 
ours. Here might the kings of the earth de- 
posit their crowns, and the emblems of idea! 
grandeur and fashionable distinction ; and be- 
come as great in goodness, and as good in 
greatness, as the humble cottager, who knows 
and loves his God. This is a species of truth 
that is a counterpoise to the most depressing in- 
firmities of our nature, and pours its cheering 
illuminations through the darkest storms of ad- 
versity. It renders hallowed, every solitary 
hour of life. It interdicts the intoxicating cup 
of sensual pleasure, before we bear it to our 
lips. It elevates us above the distraction, vio- 
lence and tumult of the world. It plants its 

guardian 



Sft SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



guardian vigils around us, on the bed of sick- 
ness, and brightens the perspectives of an eter- 
nal world, at the hour of death. But the chil- 
dren of irreconciliation are excluded from all 
its salutary and heart-sustaining benefits. A 
murmuring spirit discolours the very features of 
truth, and constantly labours to evade the force 
of those realities, which are not congenial with 
the views of a carnal mind, and the feeling of a 
distempered heart. Whereas a devout inspec- 
tion of the works of nature, is delightful and 
satisfactory to tire eye of submission. Truth 
and light, under the active powers of investiga- 
tion, beam on the soul from every object, and 
exhibit God, even in the apparent minuteness 
of his works. The moment we relinquish the 
cradle, we are presented with a view of nature's 
inimitable scenery. 

Here the powers of thought are called into 
being ; and curiosity, wonder and imagination, 
are awakened and become subsidiary to the pur- 
suits of knowledge. The votary to submission 
advances in this instructive path, charmed by 
his progress and the delights of the way. He 
discovers an immense chain of correspondencies 
and reciprocal dependence, suspended from the 
finger of God, reaching to the dust, that cleaves 
to the foot of the traveller. Divine sentiments 
kindle in his bosom. Conscious insufficiency 
mysteriously serves to aid his ascension to the 
source of intelligence. Irreconciliation draws 
a veil between nature and the Divinity. 

The 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 21 



The fair fabric of creation becomes a back- 
ground scenery, inexplicably darkened before 
him, to whom, wisdom, goodness and divine 
love are invisible. Thus she groans, sighs, and 
pours out her rancorous complaints. The ru- 
ins of the canker in the garden, the ravages of 
the worm in the field, excite the venom of her 
breast. She imperiously asperses the guardian 
of men and things, and with daring effrontery 
denies the rectitude of heaven. Where is the 
warrior, who is ever alive to the charms of na- 
ture, while enveloped in the din and smoke of 
battle ? Where is the man, that has ever been 
enamoured with the features of divine truth, 
while devoted to the darkened work of rebellion ? 
A serious notice of Divine Providence is useful 
and instructive. Hereby we are often impress- 
ed, with the indispensability of duties already 
known, and led to the discovery of new and 
edifying truths. But should we gaze forever, 
at the footsteps of Providence, a murmuring 
spirit would render totally impracticable our 
own edification. By endeavouring to measure 
the intentions of God by our own conceptions, 
we are deluded into darkness, where the beams 
of Divine complacency are never commission- 
ed to enter. Thence we are heard to exclaim ; 
why are we doomed to be tossed forever on the 
tempestuous flood of calamity ? Why are our 
brightest hopes rendered as empty as the vision 
of a dream and transient as the spark, that falls 
from the flint ? Why are we exposed to such 
C disheartening 



22 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



disheartening vicissitudes, and such ardent con- 
flicts ? Why are we tortured with pains, torn 
from our enjoyments by sickness, and arrested 
in our course by the iron hand of disappoint- 
ment ? Alas ! how often is this blasphemous 
language practically adopted ; and the hideous 
complexion of this cynical temper discovered 
through the tinsel disguise it wears. 

Delirium and madness are frequently the off? 
spring of ^reconciliation. They give a strange 
discolouring to the inscrutable design of events, 
darken councils, close the avenues of knowledge 
and poison the springs of life. Do we expe- 
rience the influence of resignation ? We look 
with different eyes and different sensations upon 
Divine Providence. We do not leap with an? 
ger into the trackless realms of presumption ; 
the horrors of insufficiency melt away into the 
precious sentiments of Divine rectitude. It 
gives us a pleasure, unknown to the multitude, 
that kingdoms, nations and our lives, are under 
the constant inspection ot Omniscience,and the 
controul of a hand, that rules with immaculate 
righteousness. We look, with reverence, upon 
the long and glorious annals of Divine govern- 
ment. Our faith brightens, and our alliance 
with heaven strengthens by the prospect. A 
consciousness of mortality, gives birth to the 
swelling feelings of immortality. Our ills, our 
pains and sorrows are lost in the view of eter- 
nal good. Have we rejoiced and mourned, 
hoped and despaired, fallen and arisen ? As 

we 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



23 



we have journeyed thus far in life ; a righteous 
God has always been before us, either in a cloud 
or in a pillar of fire. A pang more, or a pang 
less, another ray of prosperity, another hour of 
adversity, or another span to the length of our 
way, might have made us something different 
from what we now are. There our souls recoil 
as at the thoughts of oblivion ; for the con- 
sciousness of what we are, is dear as life ; it is 
the essence of being. The resigned mind gains 
knowledge from nature, and instruction from 
Divine Providence, it advances to glory, through 
every event, and triumphs beyond the reach of 
carnal commotion. 

The lustre of revealed truth is, also, either 
wrapped in clouds before those, who are desti- 
tute of submission, or is beheld under all the 
distortions, that a distempered mind and cor- 
rupted heart can invent. Objections are palpa- 
bly made against the counsels of the Almighty. 
That his noblest works should be condemned 
to wander in the mazes of depravity ; that he 
should delay the mission of a Redeemer, and 
destine so many ages to roll away in darkness $ 
that he should commit the tidings of salvation 
to a humble Nazarene ; that he should make 
the portals of glory accessible to none, but 
meek and submissive spirits, are complaints, 
which fall from the lips of unreclaimed apos- 
tates. They announce the blackness of de- 
pravity, a wilful evasion of the truth, and evince 
the infusion of infernal wrath. On the contra- 
ry* 



24 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

ry, with what mingled delight and wonder do 
the children of submission listen to the oracles 
of God. They are vivified by the effulgence 
of truth ; they rejoice in the counsels of the 
Most High, and catch the joys of angels from 
admiring with them, the designs and methods 
of grace, in the redemption of the trembling 
sinner. Alive to hope and joy, they look on 
Jesus and love away the rising pangs of anguish 
and grief. The bosom of resignation alone is 
open to the sanctifying rays of the Divinity, 
which by a constant agency, buoy the soul in 
softened raptures to the cloudless realms of im- 
mortality. 

The importance of resignation* as it regards 
our happiness, cannot be denied. Yet by a 
strange infatuation, it is deemed necessary, on- 
ly under the perils and trials of life. During 
the calm and cloudless day, the mariner solicits 
no assistance from the light house, which is 
reared on a rugged shore, but gazes after its lu- 
minous visage, when tossed on the tempestuous 
sea through the darkness of night. Thus, 
mankind under the calm of prosperity, are con- 
veyed along, without any desire of resignation 
or religion, till the storm of calamity bursts up- 
on their heads. O feeble and presumptuous 
mortal ( are the obligations of an eternal law 
suspended, because thou art beguiled into a 
sultry composure by the charm of fiction ? Is 
thy God alive, only in the tempest and storm, 
and has he no claim to thine obedience, only 

when 



SENTIMENTS dn RESIGNATION. 25 

when he passeth by on a pavilion of judgment ? 
Wilt thou make the best of thy pleasures and 
the best of thy religion ? Is thine alienation 
harmless, because thou art wrapped in the man- 
tle of spiritual slumber ? Does the quietude 
of thine heart betoken thy permanent rest, be- 
cause thou art now basking in a transient sun- 
shine ? Why dost thou forget, that the ingre- 
dients of the earthquake are busily kindling for 
vengeance, beneath that sultry silence, that 
precedes the tremenduous shock ? Alas ! as 
long as periodical piety will satisfy thy soul, oc- 
casional resignation will answer thy wishes ! 

O ! resignation bring us near to our God, 
while our powers are vigorous to enjoy his pre- 
sence, and while we are least molested by the 
pressure of natural ills and disasters. Give us thy 
precious dainties, while our health is sound, and 
our relish is alive to their celestial qualities. 
When our hearts are faint under the burden of 
the day, afford us thy medicinal assistance. A 
single odour, poured upon our souls from thy 
sacred phial, shall give them a holy composure, 
till they awake to eternal rapture in the bosom 
of Jesus. 



Cz 



CHAPTER 



26 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



CHAPTER II. 



RESIGNATION CONSIDERED AS IT REGARDS 
THE RENUNCIATION OF OBJECTS. 



are more vain than those, which are made, in 
order to ingraft the principles of religion upon 
a strange and degenerate vine. The smile of 
security is excited, in thousands, from a belief, 
that they have so artfully incorporated the forms 
of godliness, with the properties of un regener- 
ate nature, that they will constitute a merito- 
rious assemblage of christian excellences. If 
the gospel be known, it is difficult to suppress 
a suspicion that they are moving in a delusion, 
that is of narrow limits and bounded, on every 
side, by disappointment and wretchedness. 
The scions of grace are not to be found on the 
thorn. The evil tree will always bear a fruit 
and foliage congenial with its own nature. Be- 
fore we can put on the new man, we must put 
off the old, with his deeds, which are corrupt. 
The holy armory of God is opened, by Jesus, 
to none, but those, who have rejected the 
weapons of unrighteousness. 

Did an apostate condition imply nothing 
more than deprivation, or a banishment from 
the reconciled countenance of the Creator, the 




MONG the efforts of man none 



labors 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 2* 

labors of resignation would be greatly dimin- 
ished, the sphere of its office comparatively 
small, and a knowledge of its real nature very 
considerably facilitated. But deprivation left 
the ground work of that character, to which a 
series of daring iniquities was to give a hideous 
complexion. While the love of obedience ex* 
pired in the breast of man, a rebellious spirit, 
by a fatal intrusion, obtained the possession of 
his heart. Lost to the unerring guidance of 
the Eternal Will, he immediately repaired to 
the suggestions of carnal volition, and wander- 
ed in a wilderness of extravagance and enormi- 
ty. When the Divine glory was veiled from 
mortal view, he not only turned his restless 
eyes from the face of heaven, but bade them 
search the wide realms of dust, for gods, to 
whom the heart could pour out its incense, and 
pay its idolatrous homage. The calm serenity 
of his soul was dissolved and succeeded by the 
turbulence of a thousand restless passions. 
The holy altar of meekness and humiliation 
was demolished at the feet of Jehovah and 
pride, with astonishing effrontery, reared a vi- 
sionary temple on high and from the immensity 
of self exaltation, waved, with impious hands, 
the ensign of dominion. His intellect was 
shrouded in darkness ; and losing a knowledge 
to do good, he became wise to do evil. When 
the affections of his heart ceased to arise from 
enlightened views of the Divinity, its emotions 
were excited by the visage of phantoms, by the 

transient 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION, 



transient charm of temporal objects, and by the 
variegated scenery, which adorns, with a false 
brilliancy, the chambers of sensuality. When 
he no longer regarded the divine glory, as an 
object of his actions, by a mysterious perver- 
sion, his powers were alive to the contsouling 
urgency of selfish motives, and in defiance of 
heaven, wasted his breath in lighting up the 
flame of his own glory. 

No feature of genuine resignation can be 
discovered in man, till he heartily renounce the 
works of disobedience. That froward spirit 
which leads him to trample on the oracles of 
God, must be rejected, with unqualified abhor- 
ence. How often does this spirit, disregarding 
the interdictions of conscience and heaven, hur- 
ry us into the paths of sinful dissipation and 
destructive licentiousness ! With what pow- 
er and art, does it disguise the forms of iniqui- 
ty and make them assume a harmless aspe ct! 
How does it wrap in forgetfulness the miseries, 
which are already accumulated around us, and 
consign to apathy our noblest sensibilities ! 

Rebellion always arrogates the character of a 
benefactor. Sometimes, it holds to our view, 
the pleasures of resentment ; again it proposes 
to deliver us from the pressure of injuries, the 
painful restraints of virtue, and the thraldom 
of human laws. It stands in a beckoning atti- 
tude at all aberrations from duty, there it prom- 
ises to tear the frowns from the face of fortune, 
and give a perpetual smile to the condition of 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 29 



life. By a mysterious influence, we learn to 
love this monstrous deceiver ; and receive his 
empty promises, with as much avidity, as 
though we had experienced some real advantage 
from the scenes into which we had been blind- 
ly conducted. This spirit, therefore, which is 
so dear in carnal appreciation must not only be 
suppressed, but thoroughly eradicated. Re- 
signation relinquishes all the works of disobe- 
dience, and deposits, in oblivion the weapons of 
rebellion. No man can be resigned to the laws 
and government of the Divine Being, till his 
aversion be entirely removed, and he cease to 
evade their unabating authority. In short, he 
can never become truly submissive, till the es- 
pousals of his soul to the works of darkness be 
effectually dissolved. 

How frequently do the most fatal dangers 
lurk in ambush under some specious form ! 
Thousands are deceived into a belief, that they 
are possessed of the grace of resignation, be- 
cause they avoid the palpable acts of disobedi- 
ence ; and forbear to raise, with unblushing 
boldness the weapons of resistance. All this 
may be produced by the inferior motives of 
honour and temporal fame. The flesh is often 
tired into a compliance, when the spirit is at 
warfare with God. The rebellion of thought 
and of our secret affections must be slain, be- 
fore we can be denominated the submissive 
subjects of the Divine government. The 
slave with silent ancj visible composure may per- 
form 



SO SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



form the works of obedience, while his heart is 
burning with venom and hatred against his 
Lord and Master. Thus when disobedience is 
openly and vitally relinquished, then, nor till 
then, can it be hoped we have the least degree 
of genuine resignation. 

An unreserved subjection of the will is an 
indispensable article in resignation. This is an 
achievement not to be effectuated by a few phi- 
losophic exertions. Natural wisdom may pro- 
duce an ostensible conformity to the resistless 
controul of general laws. Common sense, itself, 
would smile at the spectacle, should some dar- 
ing eagle, beaten by the winter storm, attempt 
to remove the mountain of her residence into 
realms of perennial spring. Nor less would it 
smile, should it discover a feeble mortal endea- 
vouring to elude his misery, by struggling to 
effect a change in the operation of immutable 
laws. 

The natural will is a primary agent, in the 
wretchedness and ruin of the soul. Disdaining 
the guidance of Jehovah, it lifts a brazen head 
in contempt of all the wholesome restraints of 
Heaven ; and even exults in a visionary liber- 
ty, while the ponderous chains, that are forged 
by the powers of darkness, are rivetted on our 
necks. It tears itself from the influence of a 
Divine agency, like some unhappy stream that 
steals a passage through the banks of a majestic 
river, wandering in a solitary wilderness, till it 
precipitate into darksome caverns, and there be 

converted 



SENTIMENTS m RESIGNATION. 31 

converted into a cloud of noxious vapours. It 
discovers the gates of heaven, but disdains to 
tread the valley of meekness, through which 
alone, they are accessible. Under its imperious 
dictates, polluted garments are assiduously wov- 
ven and wrapped about us, while the robes of a 
Saviour's righteousness are rejected with all the 
coldness of malignant scorn. All that divine 
benignity could do, in providing an escape from 
eternal misery, in ameliorating the condition of 
the present life, and calling from their slumbers 
the lovely sentiments of immortality, is scoffed 
away by its counter determinations. It renders 
the eloquence of a Saviour's sufferings as un- 
profitable as the howlings of the desert, and the 
voice of his blood as unaffecting as the rustling 
of a leaf. It severs the anchor of hope from 
our bosoms, and leaves us to the mercy of a 
tempestuous sea, with the heavens on fire over 
our heads, with nothing but frost-work to pre- 
vent us from sinking to the chambers of death. 

The powers of volition are often concealed 
under the influence of habit, and we learn to 
evade the impression of criminality, by attribut- 
ing our actions to unfortunate but unavoidable 
inclinations, and the circumstances by which 
we are surrounded. Thus the female, who is 
tenderly alive to the powers of volition, at the 
fatal hour of prostitution, scarcely realizes its 
office any more through a career of misery, 
guilt and shame till death pours its accumulat- 
ed horrors upon her hopeless soul. The thief 

is 



32 SENTIMENTS ok RESIGNATION. 



is more sensible of voluntary agency, for the 
first time he lays a pilfering hand on some trif- 
ling toy, than ever after in entering our thresh- 
old, at midnight. The corrosions of guilt are 
generally diminished by the frequency of crimes. 
This is chiefly owing to the concealment of the 
regency of the will, under a series of palliating 
contingencies. Hence it is, that mankind in 

teneral misconstrue a definition, the apostle 
as given of the carnal mind, and deny its ap- 
plication to themselves and denominate it a 
kind of harmless non-conformity to the laws of 
God. This being something of the nature and 
character of the will, it must be entirely sub* 
dued, before we can feel the hallowed influence 
of true resignation. 

One of the greatest conflicts, with which the 
heart is acquainted, consisteth in renouncing our 
idol gods. The inclination to worship is strong 
and universal. Tt is cherished and supported by 
al! the vicissitudes of terrour, hope, misery, and 
joy. The savage feels it awakened within him, 
when he beholds the angry cloud travelling up 
the western skies ; when it thunders over his 
head ; and when it passes away in awful disper- 
sion. The same inclination is quickened, 
when he discovers a heaven planted with stars, 
inverted forests and suspended mountains, 
through the translucent bosom of the lake. It 
leads him to invoke his gods, previous to the 
feats of battle, and prompts him to peals of be* 
wildered praise, when he retires with laurels of 

victory 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



victory on his brow. It is warmly alive in the 
heart of the bold adventurer, as he treads the 
ground of hazard. The indolent coward feels 
it shoot across his breast in the intervals of gap- 
ing languor. From the splendours of genius 
to the feeblest gleam of reason ; from the mag- 
nificent heights of dominion to the deepest 
cells of servitude, the impulse of this propen- 
sity is more or less experienced. The gold is 
now changed, and the most fine gold become 
dim. Man no longer beholds the God of heav- 
en, with the lively fervours of affection and 
reverential attachment. He is beguiled alike 
from duty and the sources of enjoyment. A 
spiritual dimness renders imperceptible the 
glory of his Creator, while a thousand mortal 
deities swarm into life around him. They en- 
gage his heart, he views them with enchanted 
eyes, clothes them with a finical glory, and con- 
secrates them to immortality. Reason, how- 
ever, aided by the light of revelation, readily 
discards the delirious scenery of heathen idola* 
try. Thus the heart has but little conflict, 
when we strike from their brazen pedestals the 
gods of the mountains - 9 or when we consign 
the altars of the valley to mingle with the 
smoke of the blood that is burned upon them ; 
when this is done, we are often deceived into a 
belief, that we vitally regard the command 
that is written by the finger of God, and that 
the shackles of clay alone prevent our flight to 
immortal glory. The mantle of charity is 
D scarcely 



34 SENTIMENTS *>n RESIGNATION. 

scarcely broad enough to cover the folly of that 
heated votary to intoxication, who exults in 
the glories of self denial merely, because he has 
renounced the rendezvous of nightly revelling 
and clamorous intemperance. Are the in- 
ebriations of his own closet free from poison, 
harm and guilt ? Nor can it fail to excite the 
sigh of enlightened discretion, when we are 
heard to announce our piety and prove its resi- 
dence within us, because our idolatrous services 
have lost their notoriety and retired into forms 
less exposed to mortal inspection. There are 
desires that are feeble and languid in the open 
face of day, their existence is but faintly felt 
in the circles of society, and in the throng of 
court ; but at the hour of seclusion, they awake 
from slumber refreshed into enormous strength 
and over bearing sway, controuling all the pow- 
ers of thought. And we appeal to the decU 
sions of experience, if the propensities to idola- 
try are not the most fervent and dangerous, 
when most secreted from the gaze of the world. 
It is then our attachments assume a dangerous 
influence and our alliance to perishable objects 
become so strangely infatuating. It is then 
we venture to look upon our gold, and call^ur 
god, and adore with silent love our fancied pen- 
fections. We frequently idolize some amiable 
virtue that has procured us apleasing eminence, 
on the scale of distinction. Our souls pour 
their silent eulogies upon it in all our solitary 
walks. We vainly clothe it with the attributes 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. S3 

6t a Saviour, we attach unto it the office of 
atonement, and make it the ground of our jus- 
tification before the council of heaven. We 
cause it to personate an excellence, at whose 
approach the gates of immortal glory are spon- 
taneously opened. Brilliant talents are also dei- 
fied, with all the zeal of enthusiasm. The 
writer, the orator and counsellor burn their in- 
cense to those faculties which lead to eminence, 
in their appropriate spheres. Though the high 
accessions of greatness will forever mock the 
toil of my feeble powers ; I can recollect, with 
shame, several instances of extemporary per- 
formance, when my mind has been lost to that 
being, whose name my lips were pronouncing 
with solemnity, and having no other conscious- 
ness, for moments, than that of being charmed 
with the fancied talent of invention, and the art 
of communicating my ideas with a pleasing fa- 
cility. Alas ! the ray that sports in darkness 
may become our God alike, with a full efful- 
gence of exalted genius. The fading gifts of 
nature command the reverential effusions of our 
hearts, and this inscription, " The chief good,' 1 
is frequently stamped on the dreams of life. It 
is' no rarity for the female, to devote the morn- 
ing of life to the shrine of beauty, labouring 
with unremitting assiduity* to preserve her 
charms from the dust of oblivion. Art is vain, 
in attempting, to prolong the abode of her dei- 
ty in colour and features. He assumes a resi- 
dence, in wit and satire, and obtains the con- 
stant 



36 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



stant and faithful homage of declining life. 
That inordinate affection with which we look 
at a child, a companion and friend — that sub- 
tle enthusiasm which steals our hearts from the 
Creator, when we survey the charms of nature 
and art, that fondness with which we contem- 
plate the splendours of our own talents $ that 
infatuation under which, we clothe our own 
virtues with the offices of a Redeemer ; all 
these constitute an idolatry as dangerous to the 
soul, and as heinous in the sight of a holy God, 
as the golden calves of Dan and Bethel, or the 
honours that w r ere poured upon the Ephesiaa 
Diana, 

True resignation relinquishes all these vain 
attachments. It severs all inordinate affection 
from the world* it dissolves every illicit atten- 
tion to created objects, and discerns no loveli- 
ness within them, independent of the Divine 
Being. Phantoms are divested of their en- 
chantment, ideal charms cease to beguile the 
heart, and the wide field that is peopled with de- 
ities, by the plastick power of imagination, is 
given up to its infernal proprietor, the mo- 
ment in which the spirit of resignation finds an 
avenue to our bosoms. 

Religion is peculiarly fond of quietude and 
composure. It flies from the noisy scenes of 
the world, which are ill suited, to its holy ex- 
ercises. The sublime and even painful senti- 
ments of reverence, which are excited by the 
roaring of the forest, and by the nightly voice 



SENTIMENTS mr RESIGNATION. $7 

of the thundering cataract, become miid and 
seraphic as we retire from the more immedi- 
ate impression of these majestic sounds. The 
eloquence of the pulpit, which is generally so 
little affecting, when poured from the most 
polished lips of clay, often becomes the elo- 
quence of angels when we repair to our closets, 
and memory repeats it, in melting accents to 
the soul. How precious is that evening hour, 
when ceremonial tumult, and vulgar commo- 
tion, have suspended their dominion, and silence 
broods on the face of nature, when the heavens 
are wrapped in clouds, and the greatest light 
we can discover, is the lamp that glimmers 
through the distant window of kindred piety, 
which is casting the last look for the night, on 
some precious promise of Jesus, and rendering 
her pillow peaceful by sprinkling upon it the 
incense of prayer ; it is then we feel that purity 
of affection, and those devotional fervours that 
are unknown in the crowded assemblies of the 
world. Lust and passion deprive us of that 
quietude, which is requisite to religious exercise, 
and confound all the functions of the soul* 
Even the tremulous struggles of suppressed 
passion break the chain of thought, and throw 
into derangement our intellectual energies. 
Every hallowed sensation expires at the first 
pulse of unbridled lust. The intrusion of one 
licentious desire is often fatal to the incense of 
contrition, and diffuses a deathly leaven through 
the serious exercises of the day. Were our 
D z passions 



38 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

passions therefore productive of no other harm, 
thin molesting the tranquility of the soul, and 
dissolving the celestial charm of devotion, it is 
indispensably necessary that they should be 
renounced without reserve or apology. The 
propriety of this cannot be denied, when it is 
considered, that lust and passion live and reign 
in defiance of the absolute interdiction of heav- 
en. They corrupt the springs of life, and blot 
every trace of the heavenly image from our 
souls, and stamp upon us a shame and guilt 
that are indelible to every remedy but the blood 
of Christ. Every species of aspiring, arrogance 
is given up in the act of resignation. Pride is 
an odious monster, it borrows strength from de- 
struction, obstinacy from death, and artifice 
from the adversary of souls ; making all the in- 
furiate passions of the heart subsidiary to its im- 
pious designs. The earth groans beneath its 
feet, the poor are galled by its relentless op- 
pression, slaves are compelled to unbowei moun- 
tains, in search of glittering dust to form its 
georgeous trappings, and even the silkworm is 
reproved for not weaving with sufficient bril- 
liancy the garments of grandeur. With un- 
blushing insolence it remonstrates against the 
divine administration, especially when the 
wheels of providence crush the schemes of per- 
sonal aggrandizement and derange the career 
of ambition under a propitious concurrence of 
events, it raises in swelling strains, the voice of 
exaltation, and monopolizes the use of sun and 

stars 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 33 

stars together with the gifts and bounties of na- 
ture. Disdaining to bow at the feet of Jesus, 
it climbs the skies with Babel aid, and claims 
an exalted seat in the chambers of glory. 
In surveying the character of such glaring and 
presumptuous pride, our souls recoil from its 
empire, the sentiments of gratitude kindle with- 
in us, and we proclaim our thanks that it never 
has obtained the possession of our hearts. 
Though the circumstances of life have prevent- 
ed our treading the highest paths of ostentation 
and vanity, it is no evidence that this evil spirit 
has not a more secret throne in our hearts, dif- 
fusing an influence, fatal to the birth and 
growth of every pious and holy principle. The 
outward observance of religious duties consti- 
tutes the dress of vital piety $ so that haughty 
deportment and towering greatness, which 
trample down the world, are but the habili- 
ments of that inward pride against the Almigh- 
ty. Thus the disallowance and practical re- 
jection of the haughty forms of arrogance fur- 
nish, but a pitiful proof that we are real posses- 
sors of evangelical reconciliation. We are all 
exposed to a spiritual pride which is peculiarly 
subtle, officious and dangerous. This often 
reveals itself, when in mourning tones, we an- 
nounce our former vileness and sinful habits, 
spreading at the same time, with exultation, 
that spotless robe with which we are invested, 
before the eye of publick observance, and in 
the style of ancient pride, proclaiming our joy 

that 



4$ SENTIMENTS on DESIGNATION. 



that we are not like other men. Alas ! how 
frequent are the virtues, honesty, temperance, 
and meekness consumed, in the pride of pos- 
session like the fever, that plants the crimson 
blush of health on the cheek, while its latent 
fires are consuming the springs of life^ As 
plain as print in letters of gold we may read 
the existence of pride on the eyes of visible 
meekness, while it is describing the humble path 
in which it chooses to walk, in contrast with 
the eclat of courtly magnificence. We are 
proud also of the honour and services we pay 
our Creator, as if he were profited by our im- 
aginary benefactions. It is within the deceit of 
©ur hearts to be proud in our triumphs over 
the spirit of pride. Herculean exertions may 
strangle the serpent, while the blaze of selfish 
glory, in which the deed is done,, gives birth to 
the noxious viper. The doctrine of transmi- 
gration applies with truth to the spirit of pride. 
It mysteriously flies from form to form, preserv- 
ing its identity,under a thousand d ifferent shapes. 
To extract its deep enwoven roots from our 
nature, to demolish its influence and reject it 
from life and practice, is an important branch 
in the great work of resignation. And as an 
arm that could wield a globe, would be insuffi- 
cient to this event, without the assistance of 
divine grace ; so all boasting is absolutely ex- 
cluded, and he that glorieth must glory in the 
Lord with meekness and fear. There is a kind 
of pleasure that accompanies the feats of inge- 
nuity 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 41 



nuity and schemes of refined and successful ar- 
tifice. The thief and robber very probably 
smile away the sense of guilt, at the moment, 
in which invention discovers a way to enter the 
bolted portals of a neighbouring house* The 
vile seducer is pleased with the arts by which 
he is alluring unsuspecting innocence to the al- 
tar of eternal infamy. The turpitude of his 
deeds, and the indignation of heaven are alike 
forgotten in the charm which his seductive 
powers create. The author will never forget 
an evening in which he was passing, at a late 
hour, by a country prison, when the surround- 
ing silence was broken by peals of laughter, 
that issued from the grates of a lower apart- 
ment, of the dreary mansion. Curiosity led 
him to investigate, if possible, the cause of 
joy in this dark cell of convicted criminality. 
He heard the colloquy of two malefactors. 
One related the seductive art and intrigue, by 
which he had baffled the vigils of maternal af- 
fection, and allured a blooming daughter of en- 
dearment, from the bower of innocence and vir- 
tue, through the gates of everlasting shame. 
The other m return, gave a narrative of his for- 
mer tricks of legerdemain at the gaming table, 
and the schemes of artifice by which he had de- 
prived an orphan of a legal inheritance, with- 
out ever incurring the suspicion of the world. 

Franklin could never have related the man- 
ner, in which he acquired a harmless familiari- 
ty, with the lightning of heaven, with any 

greater 



42 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION'; 



greater pleasure than what seemed to pervade 
the hearts of these wretches. Had their guilt; 
for that moment been written in letters of fire 
on the darkness of their dungeon, it would 
scarcely have commanded their notice. The 
author retired very deeply affected with the dis- 
covery of a new feature in human depravity. 
The infidel derives a pleasure from his own wit* 
and sophistry, that gives him a kind of securi- 
ty, while he tramples upon the authority of God. 
He is enraptured with the inventions of his own 
genius, that have taught him to discover in man 
the principles of perfectability, and to guide 
the impenitent multitude in triumph to the 
land of rest. The delicious fondness of * hew- 
u ing out to ourselves, cisterns, broken cisterns, 
€X that can hold no water the delicious en- 
thusiasm of figuring largely in the labours of 
infidelity, must bow and expire at the shrme 
of resignation. There the employments and 
inventions, that are unsanctioned by the divine 
approbation, are stripped of their charms and 
cease forever to be objects of pursuit* 

The scenery of sensuality is clothed with en- 
chantment. Its influence often controuls our 
tender years, exciting affections, and attach- 
ments, that are not easily subdued. At that 
early period, when our morning and evening 
prayers are but an irksome task, performed chief- 
ly with a view to soften the visage ot conscious 
guilt. Even then, we learn and chant, with 
wakeful avidity, the voluptuous song, the double 

entendre 



SENTIMENTS oh RESIGNATION. 43 

entendre sallies of wit, and anticipate, with high 
enthusiasm, the luxurious and clamorous gam- 
bols of a publick day. These native propensi- 
ties, fostered by habit, and encouraged by fash- 
ion, soon become so many resistless desires seek- 
ing their gratification, through all the mazes 
of licentiousness. The evanescence of sensual 
and worldly charms does not abate the zeal, 
with which we pursue them. We refuse to 
learn, that mortal object^ are of mortal worth, 
but are scientific, in the work of excluding the 
Divinity from our meditations and the momen- 
tous concerns of the soul from our thoughts. 
To reject from our prospects, the enamouring 
pictures of sensual pleasures, to eradicate from 
the heart our vain attachments, is a task of re- 
signation, that is marked with peculiar conflict. 
Though the voluptuary and the votary to the 
world dread it as they dread the extinction of 
light, it must be performed according to the 
indispensable requisitions of our holy religion. 
For resignation forever implies, in its subjects, 
a lively enjoyment of a God, in whose sight, 
the heavens are pronounced unclean. His spot- 
less ^lory and excellence are far above the dis- 
cernment of the impure in heart, and converfa- 
tion. Though we believed in conformity to 
modern theology, that depravity originates en- 
tirely from habit, we could not deny the necessity 
of surrendering all the heart polluting vanities 
of time, in order that a view of Divine glory 
may pour its influence unon our souls and kin- 
dle 



U SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



die the sacred fires of holy affection. We can- 
not fail to partake of the nature and character 
of the objects, with which, we delight to con- 
verse. They infuse their properties, into the 
sources of life, by a thousand invisible avenues. 
Do we visit the cells of a prison ? we partake 
of itsgloom and breatheour involuntary respon- 
ses to the sighs of wretchedness. The chamber 
of gaiety and extravagance prints its gaudy im- 
ages on the mind of its affectionate visitor, im- 
ages that maintain their residence over the ruins 
of celestia sensibility, to the rejection of ev* 
ery thing, that is truly valuable. The mere 
spectator to the allurements of the world, who 
guards against their power and denies them, a 
place in his bosom, is frequently doomed to ex- 
perience their mysterious influence. Thetrav* 
eller upon the sands of an intemperate climate 
may not intend to suffer the loss of his bloom- 
ing looks, but at the end of his journey the 
mirror, wiSl inform him, that he has received 
something of a sallow complexion. A lewd 
thought will obscure, for days, oar vision of God, 
and mingle., with an unsavoury tincture, the in- 
cence of our devotions. Thus our ascension 
from the path of depravity and the enjoyment 
of our Creator reojuireus to dissolve connexion 
with the vanities of the world, and to embrace 
those objects alone, which tend to purity and 
real glory. 

Resignation renounces every claim to an in- 
corruptible inheritance, that has for its support, 

nothing 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



45 



nothing more than the specious forms of exter- 
nal virtue. The city of Zion is accessible to 
none, but those who have left behind them their 
polluted garments, and are clothed, in whiten- 
ed raiments, the imputed righteousness of their 
Redeemer. Without the purifying illumina- 
tions of faith, we must stumble forever on the 
dark mountains below. All the labours of the 
resigned, as it respects the renunciation of things, 
must be seasonable and voluntary. In order 
to experience the consolatory evidences, in fa- 
vour of the possession of this grace, forbidden 
exercises must be suppressed and unlawful at- 
tachments abandoned, while we are susceptible 
of their enchantment. For it would furnish 
but a poor assurance, were we to wait for the 
lingering languors of age to procure the death 
of our worldly affections. To forsake the realms 
of debauchery, because the flame of our lust 
was extinguished ; to relinquish the vanities of 
life, because they have tired out the emotions 
of the heart, would but stain the laurels of re- 
signation. The triumphs of victory must al- 
ways depend upon previous conflict and con- 
scious danger. Having revolted from our God, 
we must surrender ourselves to his arms, en- 
trusting life and all its concerns to the righteous 
disposal of his providence, rejoicing that " the 
*' hearts of kings are in his hands, and he turn- 
" eth them, as the rivers of water are turned." 



E 



CHAPTER 



46 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



CHAPTER III. 

RESIGNATION CONSIDERED AS IT REGARDS 
THE EXERCISES OF THE HEART AND MIND 
IN MEETING THE EVENTS OF DIVINE PROV- 
IDENCE. 



In considering resignation, with re- 
gard to the temper and disposition, with which 
we meet the events of providence, its existence 
can hardly be imagined, separate from the light 
of the knowledge of God. Ignorance, combi- 
ned with a thousand groundless fears and emp- 
ty hopes, constitutes a great portion of the de- 
grading shades ot human life. In the dark 
forest of ignorance, the bowlings of man and 
beast are mingled together andiraces of supe- 
riority, in the former, are but in few respects, 
very clearly discernible. There the incense of 
bewildered prayer is poured out to appease the 
wrath of the tempest ; and praise is offered to 
the stars of fortune, to purchase for unborn 
generations, a share in tht perpetual smiles of 
prosperity. There, likewise are the altars, that 
are inscribed to the Unknown Goi>. Rev- 
elation, however, opens, in a glorious display, 
those attributes of the Divinity, which, at once 
demand our devout regard, and contain in 
themselves, the reasons of unreserved submission. 
Can we discern by faith ^nd be confirmed by 

4h our 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 47 



our understanding, that righteousness and judg- 
ment are the habitation of his throne ? we 
cheerfully reconcile our hearts to the controul 
of event*, according to the councils of his will, 
Herein consisteth the difference between evan- 
gelical resignation, and blind submission to the 
varying contingencies of chance or to the desti- 
nies of merciless fate. 

We often reconcile ourselves to events, with- 
out tracing to its source^ that holy agency 
through which they are brought to pass. We 
learn to beau, with unmurmuring bravery, the 
chastisements of providence, while we neither 
reverence nor discern the Sovereign hand, that 
brings them upon us. Men of distinguished 
talents may be veiled, from a view of the foun- 
tain and admire its remotest streams, not know- 
ing whence they flow. Their bosoms are alive, 
with the emotions of gratitude, under the re- 
ception of providential bounties. They bless 
that spot of earth* which rewards their toil, with 
a luxurious harvest. They look with a thank- 
ful smile, upon that vine, whose clusters have 
cheered their hearts. They acknowledge, with 
frankness, the benefactions of their fellow crea- 
tures, while God is not in their thoughts. Thus, 
is it not a solitary mystery, that we can endure 
bereavment, and submit ourselves to the una- 
voidable ills and disappointments of life, while 
the governor of the universe has no place, in 
our acknowledgements ? Our claims to resig- 
nation are insupportable and vain, unless we 

havs 



48 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



have been favoured with the experience of holy af- 
fections and celestial attachments. The giants 
of carnal enmity, may be compelled to suspend 
their visible struggles, by superior physical pow- 
er, yea, they may submit to the power of God's 
might, when the crimson flames of wrath inces- 
santly flash from their eyes. It is written, his 
enemies shall submit, and it is not improbable 
that the demons of darkness shall discern the 
justice of God, while it is utterly impossible, 
that they should ever feel the feeblest emotions 
of Divine love. A cold assent to the rectitude 
of heaven and the propriety of providential deal- 
ings, would furnish a very uncertain criterion of 
a reconciled and sanctified spirit. We often 
feel a composure under the adverse and calam- 
itous events of life. Reason and pride reject, 
with scorn, the habit of murmuring as a de- 
grading weakness ; and yet the charms of heav- 
en are not so highly appreciated as the museum, 
that is peopled with wax-work figures and gau- 
dy paintings. 

The illuminations of grace present us, with 
scenes, entirely new, and such views of the Di- 
vinity and his works, as suffuse the heart, with 
the sacred influences of love. The soul, thus 
affected, is strengthened in its energies, and its 
powers are appropriated to purposes, fruitful of 
delight and edification. It reverences the con- 
trouler of events and gathers the peaceable 
fruits of righteousness, as it journey's through 
the path of sorrow. Its affections suffer no 

languishment 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 49 



languishment from the chastisement it is doom- 
ed to feel. Bereavement and grief are but the 
frowning tempest, that quickens the motion of 
the mighty passenger, creating pain and terrour 
in his breast, which prepare him to welcome 
with greater joy, the effulgence of morning and 
greet, with purer raptures, the moorings of the 
harbour. 

The designs of God, in many events, are 
veiled from view and inscrutable to the most 
laborious researches of man. The combined 
energies of reason and faith are incompetent to 
explore the ends, he intends to effectuate, by 
his holy providences. ■ Many scenes dark and 
forbidding usher in upon us, benefits and bles- 
sings, which the most vigilant hope had never 
apprehended. Other scenes, there are, which 
wear a propitious countenance, and seem loud- 
ly to nominate the advantages, they are inten- 
ded to produce ; but in the twinkling of an eye, 
they are swept away, by the floods of adversity. 
There are not a few things, in Divine provi- 
dence, that are of doubtful tendency in human 
calculation. Resignation is exalted and glori- 
ous in conveying the soul to the arms of Jeho- 
vah, entrusts its concerns to the counsels of 
infinite wisdom and goodness. Were some 
particular temporal good immediately brought 
about, by every afflictive visitation, the temples 
of submission would be filled with the smoke 
of incense, offered by the hands of selfishness 
and depravity. The world are in a habit of 
E 2 purchasing 



50 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



purchasing their pleasures, by fatigue and haz- 
ard. Thus, in conformity with our natural 
propensities, we should cheerfully submit to a 
chastisement, that is the price and purchase of 
an over balancing favour. The wearied beg- 
gar would never hesitate to present his naked 
limbs to the storm, would it procure, for him, 
a vesture of purple and fine linen and a cor- 
responding style of magnificence. The moth- 
er would feel but a momentary agony, in hav- 
ing her infant torn from her bosom by the 
hand of death, were she assured that the cares 
and ills of life would thereby be diminished, 
and her pleasures enhanced. The soldier would 
scarcely sigh, oa leaving his limbs in the field 
of battle, were the event to procure a crown 
for his head. 

Alive to the sentiments of Divine rectitude ; 
believing in the unerring wisdom of God, the 
subject of grace is reconciled to dispensations, 
that betoken no temporal benefit, but even for- 
bid the adventurous conjectures of hope. Is 
he a parent ? he may be deprived of an only 
child, upon whose filial benignity, he had look- 
ed to sooth the pangs of age and to aid his tot- 
tering steps, through the path of infirmity to 
the grave. The daughter is often doomed to 
an orphan condition, in those tender years, 
when virtue solicits the protection of maternal 
vigilance, and innocence pleads for that saluta- 
ry counsel, which but seldom falls from the 
lips of a stranger, When the reasons of her 

calamity 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 51 



calamity are wrapped in mystery, and hope is 
lost in searching for beneficial effects, resigna- 
tion leads her to the feet of Jesus, where no 
murmuring sigh escapes her bosom, but has an 
indubitable belief that the Judge of the earth 
will do right. 

Ancient piety has furnished a very clfcar illus- 
tration of this doctrine. When the Patriarch 
was called to go out and to relinquish forever, 
those scenes, which were endeared by familiari- 
ty, the advantages to be derived from a toilsome 
pilgrimage were unrevealed before him, but 
believing in God, that he was good, cheerfully 
submitted, and went out not knowing whither 
he went. The scene on Moriah, must have 
rendered impracticable the anticipation of 
particular good. The designs of God were se- 
creted from the researches of the illustrious 
saint. Presumption itself could not have hop- 
ed, that a son or a band of sons would arise from 
the ashes of Isaac, or that the advent of the 
Messiah would be hastened or rendered more 
certain, by the extinction of that seed, from 
which the promise had announced his descent* 
While surrounded with clouds and darkness, he 
lifts his eyes to heaven and submits to the will 
of God. Had Jacob discerned that chain of 
glorious events, which was connected with the 
lemovalof the object ot his doating affection, 
resignation would scarcely have been denomi- 
nated a virtue. Far from this, he bows at the 
feet of Jehovah, while the tears of sorrow were 

streaming 



62 SENTIMENTS o* RESIGNATION. 



streaming from his eyes and his heart throbbing 
with anguish $ and while no prospects of bene.- 
fit suppressed the fear, that his grey hairs would 
be brought with sorrow to the grave. 

It was among the counsels of heaven to vin- 
dicate its laws edifying the church $ and also to 
purify the heart aftd enlarge the understanding 
of Job, by those unparalleled afflictions, which 
he was called to experience. When he adopt- 
ed the language of resignation, exclaiming the 
Lord gave and the Lord taketh away, and bles- 
sed be the name of the Lord, he knew not, 
that Zion was to receive any additional rays of 
glory from those grievous visitations, or that his 
own knowledge would be encreased, his views 
corrected, and that it should be said forever, 
that God blessed the latter end of Job more 
than the beginning. 

Thus genuine resignation maintains its in- 
fluence over the heart and will, while the ben- 
efits of bereavement and grievous calamity are 
hidden, in the impenetrable and pathless fields 
of futurity ; and it is left to the toils of faith 
to assure us, that all things shall work together 
for the good of the tranquil sons and daughters 
of humility, redounding also to the high prais- 
es of Jehovah. 

It is the current opinion of the world, that 
notorious criminality alone is justly exposed to 
peculiar afflictions. The judicial visitation 
that arrested the enormous guilt, in the camp 
of Israel, and the labours of the destroying an- 



SENTIMENTS to RESIGNATION. 53 

gel, at the tower of Siloam, are dearly accoun- 
table. When the viper had leaped from the 
fire, and fastened itself upon the hand of Paul, 
the Barbarians accounted for the event* conjec- 
turing that his abomination had been so great, 
that Divine vengeance would suffer him no lon- 
ger to live. Thus we are less perplexed, in 
vindicating the ways of providence to others, 
than to ourselves. We discern their guilt, in 
magnified forms, and reject the persuasion 
that our own lives contain iniquities of sufficient 
magnitude to forfeit our claims to Divine be- 
nignity and expose us to a series of afflictive 
events. Hence so many of the children of ca- 
lamity are found who suspend submission, en- 
quiring what evil have we done, that we should 
thus be doomed to the severest chastisements. 
Deeply impressed on my memory, is a scene* 
which excited both pity and astonishment. A 
man, whose character was composed of injus- 
tice, lewdness, intemperance, profanity, and 
daring blasphemy, had detected a child, in the 
habits of falsehood. He lectured him in the 
following manner. " My son, lying is a sin of 
scarlet colour and crimson die. Of this, you 
have been wilfully guilty. You have planted 
the blush of shame on the face of your connex- 
ions y you have polluted your reputation* by 
your own unhallowed lips; you have robbed 
me of the pleasure, which I once felt, in calling 
you my son. You have forfeited the confidence 
of man, and exposed yourself to that suspicion, 

whose 



u sentiments on resignation. 

whose scornful looks are like poisoned arrows, 
in the heart. O my son, my soul trembles for 
you, lest the Arbiter of heaven arise$ in his 
wrath, and consign you to everlasting punish- 
ment." Our aptness to discern the iniquity 
of others, and the ignorance, that veils, from 
view* the true complexion of our own hearts, 
both serve to facilitate evasions from the pow- 
er of solemn truth. It is said that but few 
shall be saved. With little difficulty, in our 
own conceptions, we procure a place, in com- 
pany with that precious few. We look back 
into antiquity $ we survey the countless tribes, 
that lived before the flood, whose daring trans- 
gressions provoked the wrath of heaven ; we 
bring into view the armies oLIsrael, who despis- 
ed the Oracles of God, who sinned at the foot 
of Sinah ; we unite, with ease, the unbelieving 
Jews, who killed the Prophets and poured their 
veangeaoce upon the head of the Redeemer. 
Again we turn to the debauched armies, that 
ravaged the world, and to those Heathen na- 
tions, who have swarmed around their idols, 
mingling the blood of infants, with their sacri- 
fices. We ruminate the fields of later guilt, 
and there discern, in immense groups, the riot- 
ous, the blasphemous, the oppressive, the in- 
temperate and prostitute ; and in comparison 
with all these, we denominate ourselves beings 
of a superior order. They have rendered them- 
selves obnoxious to the Divine displeasure. 
They have thronged the broad road that leads 

to 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. $5 



to ruin, and left room for us to travel that nar- 
row path, that leads to the gates of salvation. 
This is our security, in a state of darkness and 
self-deception. But hark ! the Almighty hath 
said, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise per- 
ish. 

Far different are the views arid feelings of the 
children of resignation. In looking upon the 
world, they dare not, they cannot entertain the 
belief, that they are formed of purer dust, than 
their fellow creatures. Under the illuminating 
influences of the spirit, they discover their tur- 
pitude, their rising corruptions, their moral 
and spiritual distempers, together with the 
plague that broods upon their hearts. They 
reject, as a presumptuous effort of self justifica- 
tion, the inquiry, what have we done, that we 
are thus pointed out, as marks for the arrows 
of calamity ? From the humblest attitude ol 
submission, they recognize the rectitude of di- 
vine providence. Those sins, which they are 
able to recollect, and the thousands, which are 
now lost to the scrutinous toils of reflection, 
excite their astonishment that theirafflictions are 
so feiy and ' light, that they are chastised with the 
rod of lenity, instead of a cluster ofscorpions. 
When feeling and fortitude are in conflict, their 
celestial guardian gives triumph to fortitude, 
and to feeling that tender melancholy that a- 
wakens the precious sentiments of immortality. 
Pain is considered as the grand preventive 
of enjoyment. The blessings of peace vanish 

away 



56 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION; 

away under the fatal influence of its relentless 
sceptre. Endeavors to escape from its em- 
pire are prompted by nature, and rendered lau- 
dable when exerted in conformity to the 
dictates of our holy religion. Errour, however, 
and that of the most dangerous kind, is em- 
braced in our earnest attempts to avoid misery. 
At the present day, and even in the christian 
world, many are found repairing to the temples 
of stoick philosophy, to imbibe the petrifying 
incense, from its brazen censer. Do they learn 
to visit, with indifference, the chambers of dis- 
tressed humanity, or to tread the thorny path 
of affliction, without a groan or even the spasm 
of a nerve ? The acquisition is not very desirable, 
since it must destroy a capacity of sympathet- 
ick pleasure, and consign to apathy the finest 
sensibilities of the heart. Could we take from 
the tender vine, its susceptibility of suffering, 
by the chilling frost, no longer would it smile 
under the nutritious dews of the morning, or 
flourish under rhe benign salutation of the sun. 
Thus it is possible for man to be deluded into a 
belief, that he is resigned to the Divine will, be- 
cause he can endure, without very painful emo- 
tions, the afflictive dispensations of providence. 

It may be the condition of that peculiar 
number who maintain the highest claims to pi- 
ety, chiding with indignity the tears of af- 
flicted sensibility, converting every sigh of sor- 
row into a symptom of ^reconciliation, they 
enumerate their bereavements, with an inflated 

proweafc 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 67 



prowess, which better becomes the soldier than 
the christian ; and announce their conscious- 
ness of having been purified in the furnace 
without feeling the fire, and cheerfully submit 
beforehand to pass it again, that the few re- 
maining particles of dross may be destroyed and 
leave the gold seven times purified. The sus- 
picion, that such men have more stoicism than 
religion, cannot easily be suppressed. For 
what are chastisements from the hand of God, 
when they neither wound nor grieve the spirit, 
nor cause a pang of sorrow to the heart ? Well 
might the rebellious child smile beneath the 
rod, were his body defended with a coat of 
mail, and well might he anticipate with perfect 
composure, the frequent repetition of the scene. 
Our feelings are the medium, through which 
the salutary influences of affii&ion are convey- 
ed, by grace, to the soul. Resignation, there- 
fore, does not require the extin&ionof our ten- 
der affections, but preserves inviolate every 
nerve of sensation, not forbidding the sorrows 
of the heart to rise, but soothing them gradu- 
ally into a hallowed rest at the feet of Jesus, 
who once wept and groaned and pleaded, with 
submission to God's will, that the cup might 
pass from him. 

The beneficial effects of calamity depend 
upon our realizing that, for the present, they 
ure painful and grievous. This evidently tends 
to contrition of heart, to a humble and thorough 
repentance, gives frequency to our intercessions, 



S8 SENTIMENTS .-on RESIGNATION. 



and, by evincing our frailty, excites in our 
bosoms, the sentiments of divinity. Yet we 
all strive to suppress those wounded affections, 
which promise, through grace, our edification. 
Are we affii&ed ? We persuade ourselves to be- 
lieve it requisite to wear off the impressions of 
chastisement. F or this purpose we recur to the 
vanities of the world and to its most gaudy 
scenes, with this plausible reason, that sorrow 
may not brood on the springs of life, till they 
are exhausted, and that we may more easily 
submit to the divine will. We often suppose, 
that we have obtained resignation, when we 
have only stifled our grief, and committed 
our bereavements to forget fulness. The amuse- 
ments of time and the necessary concerns or 
life speedily erase the impressions of grief. The 
tranquil feelings, which are then experienced, 
furnish no substantial evidence of pious sub- 
mission. Resignation inclines her possessors to 
bless the Lord, when the wounds of chastise- 
ment are throbbing with anguish. When 
the drops of agony were rolling fro 211 the bosom 
of the Redeemer, he submitted to the will of 
the Father, 

Personal evil assails us on every side, through 
all the stages of lite. The innocence of the 
cradle groans beneath its pressure, and both 
form and features are thrown into distortions, 
which nothing but the grave will remove. 
Childhood and youth have no asylum from its 
dreadful intrusions. In middle age^, it is a fre- 
quent 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 5-9 

quent and irksome visiter, and in old age, it is 
an inseparable companion. Burdens of this 
denomination are alleviated and rendered sup- 
portable by resignation. Deformity is a per- 
sonal evil 5 whose grievous effects can be con- 
ceived only by those who are doomed to feel 
them. Do they journey ? The gaze of wonder 
is upon them, curiosity notes them, as subjects 
of sarcastiek conversation in those circles, where 
men and manners are discussed with unwearied 
eloquence. The heights of promotion are far 
above the hope of aspiration, and many of those 
animating objects, that influence others to no- 
ble pursuits, are beheld with despair. They 
are capable of friendly attachments ; their 
hearts are susceptible of the mysterious im- 
pressions of love ; they are alive to the endear- 
ments of connubial life, which are painted to 
extravagance by a restless imagination. Beau- 
ty, however, forbids their approach and de- 
prives them of the prospect of possessing her 
charms ; yea they are not favoured with the 
transient, trembling pleasure of avowing their 
attachment. Thus they dre driven into soli- 
tude, from whose melancholy cells, they view 
those passing scenes of the world, in which 
they are denied a participation. Resignation, 
the commiserating guardian of her votaries, 
flies to their relief. Solitary devotion and a 
train of useful thoughts become more precious 
than all the blessings of personal elegance and 
corporeal energy. Fame and fashion, with the 

parade 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



parade of pomp and grandeur, are deemed but 
vanity. She conveys them to the impartial Je- 
sus, whose love is as dear to the heart ot the 
maimed beggar, as to kings and princes. They 
look up to that holy hand, which maketh them 
to differ, with a sustaining faith, that he will 
raise them, in glorious bodies, from the dust ; 
clothe them with celestial robes j give them an 
entrance into the mansions above, to live and 
love forever, with the great Bridegroom of the 
church. 

A small number of the human race are ap- 
pointed to experience that personal evil, which 
consisteth in the loss of sight. The pleasures 
of vision are so exquisite and precious, and per- 
petual darkness so dreadful, that the world 
wonders from what sources we derive our com- 
fort, and what causes procure our tranquility. 
Religion is never at a loss in furnishing enter- 
tainments for its true disciples. Its treasures 
are forever open to the access of suppliant souls. 
Many of the distracting objects and ensnaring 
allurements of the world are hidden in that 
darkness, by which we are surrounded, and 
leave us the privilege of attending to momen- 
tous concerns, with a more inviolate assiduity. 
The perspectives of nature and her objects are 
delightful : this delight, however, is not extin- 
guished by the blindness of the natural eye. 
The traveller often receives the greatest plea- 
sure from his tour, after he has returned to the 
bosom of his family. Memory then presents 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 61 

him with a portrait of the scenes, through 
which, he has passed. The windings and length 
of the way ; the objects of art, by which it 
was adorned ; the towering mountains clothed 
with grandeur ; the vallies, with their meander- 
ing streams ; forests, interspersed with vine- 
yards ; ail these, in beautiful colour and ar- 
rangement, come in sweet memorial upon his 
mind. Scenes of publick parade are a kind of 
game, which magnanimity having once seen, 
will never repine, though it be allowed to see 
them no more. The smiles of affection are 
transfused from heart to heart. A benignant 
look and those pleasing airs, that betoken at- 
tachment, convey, with electrick speed, a cheer- 
ing influence through the circle of friendly as- 
sociation. Deprived of these, there is a kind, 
of recompence for the heart, that is calm and 
resigned. The voice of a friend salutes our 
ears, like the musick, that wakes us from sleep, 
in the silence of night. Our repose, in the 
season of retirement, suffers no molestation 
from our bereavement ; our dreams are more- 
rarely terrifick, and more frequently pure and 
delightful. They draw around us the scene- 
ry of nature in true colours ; and we often 
find ourselves, in a train of agreeable thoughts, 
supplicating the throne of grace, with all the 
fervours of hope. It is probable, however, 
that a murmuring spirit could never experience 
this delightful repose. By the loss of sight we 
are deprived of many transient pleasures, and 
F 2 the 



62 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



the sphere of usefulness is greatly diminished . 
We are driven into a retirement, that is gloomy 
to our first approach. Resignation, however, 
renders it comfortable, dispels its horrors, and 
removes the irksomeness of time. There the 
heart cherishes the finest feelings, and awakens 
in itself the purest sentiments of devotion. 
Things of a spiritual nature, the momentous 
realities of eternity furnish the mind with a no- 
ble and salutary employment. Our hopes and 
faith transfer us to that period, when darkness 
shall die, and the light of Divine knowledge 
shall no longer sport in troubled clay. 

Sickness and corporeal distress do not com- 
monly suspend the exercises of the heart and 
will. The importance and efficacy of prayer 
are readily acknowledged, by the subjects of 
pain and languishment. The sons of pride 
discover, with trembling, the vanity of their 
own strength. Disease, at once, darkens and 
changes their prospects, and places the riches 
and grandeur of the world on the list of fleet- 
ing phantoms. Their refuges are swept away, 
and they recoil from the unknown scenes of fu- 
turity. They call upon aged piety to plead for 
their relief, and they ask an interest in the 
publick prayers of the saints. The sick bed 
devotions of the resigned are not the fruit of 
fear and distressing apprehensions ; they aresug- 
gested by grace, offered in faith, and cause the 
soul to triumph, when the flesh is weak and 
the heart fails. At intervals, Divine light and 

[ love 



SENTIMENTS m RESIGNATION. 63 



love overwhelm the pains and languors of dis- 
ease, and furnish a delight, that surpasses de- 
scription. Realizing the rectitude of heaven, 
they endure, with patience, whatever is provi- 
dentially brought upon thern. Every rising 
murmur is repelled by the thought, that their 
sufferings, when compared with the sufferings 
of Christ, are no more than the mist on a plant 
to the waters of an ocean. The grievous arrest 
from the enjoyment of health, is regarded as a 
chastisement, and the seasonable admonition of 
a benevolent father. They are solicitous to de- 
vote a reprieved life to the service of their great 
benefactor, to have their hearts alive with 
gratitude, and their lips obedient to the claims 
of Divine goodness. Thus they arise from 
the beds of sickness, to brighter views of heav- 
en and an increased purity of life. 

Poverty not only dooms its subjects to the 
paths of obscurity, but also makes them expe- 
rience bitter sufferings of body and mind. The 
parent is shivering over the feeble blaze of the 
faggot, or a few expiring embers. She deals 
out, in small portions, the earnings of the day 
to her pleading offspring, but hears them ex- 
claim in sobbing accents, we have not enough I 
This, with other incidents peculiar to poverty, 
is hard and trying to parental tenderness. 
Being resigned, however, to the Divine will, 
and having a conscience void of the guilt of 
sloth, they submit themselves unto the care of 
God, who feedeth the ravens when they cry. 

Their 



6$ 6 SENTIMENTS ok RESIGNATIONS 



Their cottage resound with the voice of prayers 
at that morning hour, when nothing but the 
breath of slumber is heard in the mansions of 
the rich and great. From the toils of indus* 
try they receive at noon the penurious por- 
tion of Divine bounty, with joy and gratitude ; 
having acknowledged the preserving goodness 
of their heavenly father, while thousands in 
splendid life are rioting at the tables of afflu- 
ence, without one grateful impression on their 
hearts. Destitute, here on earth, they search 
for food, that can never perish, and for raiment, 
that will never fade, By faith they taste of 
the clusters, that are brought from Canaan, and 
aspire after the riches of the love and knowledge 
of the RedeemeT, 

In mourning the loss of friends, the exercises 
of resignation are clear and distinguishing. We 
behold, with heartrending grief, the ravages of 
death upon our connexions. The child, with 
its attracting charms and loveliness, languishes 
and expires in our sight, The companion, 
that excited the first pulse of love in the heart, 
and to whom we have unfolded the secrets of 
the soul, is torn from our arms by the king of 
terrors. The social friend and benefactor is ar- 
rested and laid in the cold chambers of the 
grave. Bereavements like these, are painful 
and distressing to the bosom of surviving affec- 
tion. Alas ! there is lamentation and mourn- 
ing for the removal of kindred souls, from the 
dove that mourns on the roof of the tower, to 

the 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



65 



the incarnate Divinity in tears. The anxiety, 
that is felt concerning the deceased in the 
world of spirits, is a bitter ingredient, that 
lurks in the cup of affliction. This is taken 
away by the influences of resignation, and the 
soul is enabled to commit its dearest objects to 
the disposal of Divine pleasure, and to repose 
a willing confidence in the dealings of that 
God, whose throne is forever spotless, and 
whose counsel shall stand, It is natural to hu- 
manity to regret the loss of endearing objects, 
as it deprives us of the benefits and entertain- 
ments, that are derived from them. This re- 
gret loses its poignancy by the first act of re- 
conciliation, and the heart is left to the melting 
sentiments of gratitude, that we were allowed 
to enjoy, so long, such precious and enamour- 
ing objects. Those, who are possessed of a. 
frovvard and murmuring spirit, refuse to receive 
any useful and salutary inductions from the 
volumes of nature and inspiration, and they can 
derive no very lasting advantage from afflic- 
tion. The loss of friends suspends their world- 
ly schemes. They are impressed with the 
frailty of man, with the transitory nature of 
earthly joys. Serious thoughts and impressions 
are "unavoidable, for a time, but their continu- 
ance is short, and they are gone, like inscrip- 
tions that are made on the sand. On the other 
hand, the hearts of the resigned are constantly 
open to the reception of useful knowledge, be- 
ing disciplined and enlightened by the gospel 

of 



66 SENTIMENTS 6n RESIGNATION. 



of the Redeemer, nature with all her objects. 
Divine providence with all its events, unite in 
pouring their radiance upon their souls. Af- 
fliction impresses upon them the vanity of the 
world and the precarious tenure of mortal life. 
They are weaned froo} the world, and they 
strive to enter into that rest, which remaineth 
for the' people of God. On this subject, re- 
signation thus writes from- the chamber of be- 
reavement. 

*? Sympathizing friend" 
" Much violence would be done to my pre- 
sent propensities, should I forbear to inform you 
of the recent exercises of my heart. You have 
probably heard, that by the holy hand of provi- 
dence, I am now numbered, with the daugh- 
ters of sorrow. Alas ! the object,- that was 
dearest to my heart, is no more. The separa- 
tion was distressing. I received his cold hand, 
I pressed it to my throbbing bosom ! Its pulse 
faultered, lingered, and failed forever. I wit- 
nessed the last gasps of dissolving nature, I 
was overwhelmed with anguish *, all joy was 
darkened \ my spirit was restless, and raised its 
murmurs against the counsels of Heaven. At 
length, the signal night arrived, when my soul 
was tossed with agony. Delirium began to 
throw its bewildering mist around me, my sins 
arose before me, in terrific array. I seemed to 
swim over an immeasurable abyss, with the 
breath, that held me up, nearly exhausted. The 
moment, in which I was rescued from these dis- 
tracting 



SENTIMENTS o n RESIGNATION. Cf 



tract ing thoughts, my eyes were opened to a 
discovery of that being, against whom I had 
maintained a daring warfare. The tear of con- 
trition started. I prayed and ..resigned -myself 
to the great Judge of the earth. I fell into a 
quiet slumber. The morning returned and 
gave me a heart sustaining experience of sov- 
ereign grace. The world and all its objects 
now wear an aspect entirely new. The bitter 
anguish of a bereaved heart is allayed, and leaves 
to feeling and affection, that softened sorrow, 
that is so favourable to pious thoughts, to holy 
exercises, and an unspotted life. Instructions 
are written upon every passing scene ; they ad- 
dress the heartland are transcribed into the 
tablet of the mind. I often walk on that 
ground, where the deceased sleep. The cold 
alhes of the dead ; the little lines, that mark 
the grave of the infant ; the stanzas, that speak 
the praise of aged excellence ; ; these inspire a 
melancholy delight, which j would ,-not ex- 
change for the whole amount of courtly pleas- 
ure. I retire again to my solitary residence, 
Devotion, the fair daughter of the ^kies, pours 
her s:icred consolations into my bosom, and in 
this vale of tears and trouble, endears the love 
of life, by mingling with it -the hopes of a 
blissful immortality ? ' 

Property commands our. early attention, and 
excites, in the heart, by its fascinating glare, a 
desire of possession. We find it requisite in 
procuring the conveniences and good things of 



.68 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



life, and deem it indispensable in ascending the 
path of splendour and secular greatness. We 
view it as a defence against the encroachments 
of care and trouble, and as a refuge of safety at 
home and abroad, and as a shining mantle, that 
covers the nakedness of the soul. This attach- 
ment to wealth is cherifhed by the personal 
benefits it affbrds,arid is inflamed into unbound- 
ed lust by the opinion and example of others, 
who believe it to be the pearl of price, and spare 
no toil of body or mind, in its acquisition. 

Considering the strength and prevalence of 
the love of property and our constant exposure 
to be forced from its enjoyment, by a variety 
of events that could not be anticipated in the 
wisest calculation, by the intrigues of artifice 
and envy, by the want of prudential care in 
ourselves, and by the immediate judgments of 
Heaven,it is evident that the unresigned are in 
jeopardy concerning their character and eternal 
interest. In descending from the height of 
opulence to the paths of want, magnanimity 
and resignation are as needful as a ho!y life to 
the enjoyment of God. This change of condi- 
tion, while the heart is not reconciled, is accom- 
panied, with a bitter regret and torturing cha- 
grin. It either depresses their spirits, produc- 
ing a fatal languor, or rouses, to lawless energy, 
the powers of invention. The honest earnings 
of industry are rejected as sporting atoms, and a 
state of wealth and magnificence must be re- 
gained by the daring hand of injustice, that 

grasps 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 6* 



grafps at the bread of the widow and the rai- 
ment of the orphan, and encompasses by arti- 
fice, the treasures of the rich and faithful la- 
bourer. 

The love of hazard also is a common com- 
panion of mortified and despairing pride ; and 
^reconciliation under the loss of property, dis- 
daining the government of Heaven, repairs to 
the chances of game, to become reinstated in 
splendour by the midnight, but fashionable rob- 
bery of others. Do we force from the untu- 
to redchild a part of its pleasing toys ? With 
angry and revengeful gestures, it will thrust the 
remainder to the ground. This disposition is 
not always removed by the combined influence 
of age, discipline and civil refinement. The 
jewel has been committed to the flames in that 
frenzied moment, when our property and 
equipage are taken by the hand of authority, 
to answer a just demand. Thus, when bereav- 
ed of the world, the unresigned are liable from 
passion and revenge against the destinies of 
providence, to sacrifice in wilfulness, the love 
of virtue ; to trample their own characters in the 
(}ust ; to commit chastity itself to the altar of 
prostitution ; and sink into intemperance and 
licentiousness, whence they arise no more. Al- 
lowing that these are rare and extreme cases, 
yet those who have more firmness and fortitude 
but no resignation, are doomed by their losses 
to consequences unhappy and dreadful. They 
are oppressed by an anxiety that poisons enjoy- 
G mentj 



0 -SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



ment ; that discolours, inverts, and confounds 
the objects around them. They are deprived 
jdf that quietude and peace of mind, so necessa- 
ry to the improvement, of talents and the culti- 
vation of the amiable and social virtues. It 
sours the mind, defiles the taste, creating a 
peevish and murmuring disposition. 

In the eye of religious appreciation property 
is considered as-a loan of bounty, convenient 
and necessary, enlarging the sphere of usefulness 
„and heightening our responsibility. It is 3, 
mere temporal blessing, and not exempt from 
.sorrowful influence in a dying hour. Perad- 
venture our riches may be transferred to the 
hands of our inveterate enemies, and consumed 
tn the revel and riot of those who would de- 
light to disturb the dust of our grave. Do we 
call upon great possessions at the close of life f 
They cannot alleviate the pangs of dissolution ; 
they cannot remove the dread of death, nor 
purchase a happy passage through its dreary 
valley. A single ray of faith is better than all 
the glimmering of an earthly treasure 5 a drop 
of atoning blood is of more worth than the 
possession of worlds. These thoughts upon 
riches have frequent access to the resigned 
heart. Uninterrupted prosperity enfeebles and 
often extinguishes the humiliating and salutary 
sentiments of dependence. The loss of prop- 
erty administers a chastisement upon our pride 
and selfsufficiency, and restores us to the feel- 
ings of gratitude, and the useful impressions of 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 71 



cmr dependency. No spectacle can exhibit more 
greatness of soul, than a son of resignation de- 
scending from the heights of wealth into the im- 
poverished walks of life ; bathing every ftep in 
the incense of devotion y exclaiming, it is gone, 
but it was not my God; invoking the virtues of 
a holy life ; the smiles of Jesus transfusing their 
benignity into his heart and looks, and making 
his very sighs betoken a noble and unrepining 
magnanimity. 

The diminution of our treasures by provi- 
dential events, may be overruled to our great 
advantage. We may be excited to appropri- 
ate what still remains to benevolent and useful 
purposes. Genius also may be roused from 
the slumbers of indolence, and bless the world 
with its luminous labours. We are taught 
that happiness does not arise entirely from 
external and fluctuating objects^Jhat parade 
and plenty are not always the indications 
of substantial enjoyment. Our attention is 
turned within ourselves, and we labour to store 
the mind with the riches that Heaven delights 
to protect, and to possess that gold which is lia* 
ble neither to dimness nor to change and which 
is equally valuable, when we journey or when 

we repair to the calmer scenes ofsolitude As 
the supports of property are taken away, the 
love of character is fervently cherished, and we 
find in an unspotted life that protection which 
affluence could never afford. When our secu- 
lar bereavements are biought about by the in- 
justice 



72 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



justice and intrigue of man, true submission rs 
not at a loss for consoling thoughts. The evil 
machinations of our enemies sofnetimes termi- 
nate in our benefit. Do they attack us by 
false reports ? it may excite our caution against 
committing the things that are falsely alledged 
against us. Slander itself may be the means of 
rendering our characters invulnerable before its 
poisoned arrows. And are we empoverished 
through the injustice of others ? It may ulti- 
mately serve to lessen the number of our temp- 
tations, and lead us to appreciate a righteous 
life, and to view sin and all its devices with in- 
creased abhorrence and detestation. There is 
no situation amidst the losses of the world, in 
\vhich the resigned soul does not regard the ob- 
ligations of duty, or in which the amiablenessof 
the Divine character does not engage the affec- 
tions of the heart. It calmly and devoutly 
adopts the language of the prophet, " Although 
the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit 
b&t in the vines, the labour of the olive shall 
fail, and the fields shall yield no meat, theflocks 
shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall 
be no herd in the stall ; yet I will rejoice in the 
Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. 

Public calamities frequently call for the ex- 
ercise of resignation. The removal of good 
and great men is a grievous deprivation, that 
draws the sigh of sorrow from the bosom of 
patriotism, and requires her to sit in sackcloth 
and ashes. It is the same to a nation, as the 

loss 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION! fSf 



loss of a wise and faithful parent to a -numerous 
and depending offspring. Disposition and tal- 
ents suited to the high spheres of official char- 
acter are rarely found. 

Many, who are eminently distinguished for 
their virtues and usefulness in the more private- 
departments of action, might be bewildered and 
lost in stations of great responsibility. Sur- 
rounded with dangers, and assailed by alarming 
events, some will be deserted by their wisdom, 
by their foresight, and their strength, and bs> 
resembled by the pilot who is benumbed by 
the storm, and whose voice is confounded ia 
the tremours of utterance. There are others, 
who are led by violent zeal and unwarranted 
boldness. They rush into hazard and disaster r 
as the horse rusheth into the battle. Thus 
when men, who are proved by experience to be 
good, by dangers to be great, and by triumph 
to be wise, are removed by death, the heart, 
that is warmed with a spark of patriotic fire, 
must be deeply affected with grief. Resigna- 
tion here points us to the great Ruler of the 
earth and Ikies ; receives his visitations with 
humility and contrition, and cheerfully be- 
lieves, that he can mould other portions of clay 
into vessels of equal honour, that he can bless 
at his pleasure, through the instrumentality of 
man, or by the direct and more immediate agen- 
cy of his holy hand. 

It is often alledged that there is no connection 
between religious faith and a righteous and sal- 
G 2 utary 



7* SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

utary administration of government. This 
opinion, however, finds no warrant in the pages 
of sacred or profane history. When wicked 
and impious men are advanced into high and 
important stations, it may justly be considered 
a divine judgment upon, pride and civil wicked- 
ness. The evils to be apprehended, when the 
wicked bear ru)e,.are of a shocking aspect. Are 
men promoted by the deluded confidence of 
thers ? That confidence becomes a medium 
hrough which the contagion of evil principles 
js conveyed into the hearts of others, Do they 
take the reins of government by violence h 
by violence they oppress the poor ; by violence 
they trample on the rights of man > and by 
violence they scatter destruction as wide as 
the curtains of night, and as high as the howl- 
ings of the tempest. How can the heart be 
resigned to calamities of this description? With 
what pain must it discern monstrous and vain 
speculations adopted to-the rejection of our ho- 
ly religion ; licentiousness and corruption bear* 
ing down before them every moral obligation 
and virtuous principle ! It yields to the sus- 
taining persuasion, that the Lord reigneth j, 
that the tyranny, the pride and wrath of maa 
have prefcribed bounds, beyond which, they 
can never pass : no* not even to break the 
limbs of an insect or to disturb the nest of a 
fparrow. Resignation calls from her celestial 
residence, " my children, enter into your cham- 
bers and shut the doors about you, and wait as 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 75 



it were a little while, until the indignation be 
past/' 

Drought is a calamity, to which we are great- 
ly exposed. We depend upon the fruits of 
the earth, for the support of our frail bodies for 
the enlargement of our treasures, and for the 
specious luxuries of life. This judgment* 
therefore, alarms our feelings and extinguishes 
our hopes. Under its dreary empire nature is 
divested of her charms, and clothed in melan- 
choly. The husbandman descends the field 
with a fainting heart. It languishes and mourns 
before him. His labours are given to the wind. 
The poor are driven to the gate of the miser,, 
who exclaims, I have nothing to spare, in order 
to give plausibility to his extortion, The cries 
of want are echoed from vale to vale, m'rngled 
with tones of distress from the flock and the 
herd. In this state of things the pious heart 
struggles against the imperious demands of ap- 
petite, and submits tathe will of Heaven. It 
remembers the oil and the flour, that supplied* 
without diminution, the wants of the widow 
and the prophet. It considers, that a little re- 
ceived with thankfulness, is better than luxury 
without gratitude. It trusts in the mercy of 
the Lord, and learns righteousness from his 
judgments. It pleads for the smiles of Heaven 
to return again upon the fields, to cheer the 
drooping spirits of man j and forgets not to so- 
licit the beams of that sun and the refreshing 
of that spirit, which call into being the plants 

of 



td SENTIMENTS ok RESJGNATIOM 



©f renown and make fruitful the vineyard of 
the Lord. 

The feelings of humanity and the reconcili- 
ation of the saint are tried, in seasons of epi* 
d£mick disease and mortal sickness. With 
what painful and timid steps, does sympathy 
patrol the gloomy city. The feeble glimmer- 
ings of the lamp, where friendship holds her 
anxious vigils ; the deep and solemn/^Se-ms-of 
the dying , the shrieks and sighs of surviving 
affection y the labours of the sexton, heard 
from the receptacle of the dead ; the destroy- 
ing angel, passing from door to door y houses 
of joy turned into celh of mourning y all these 
leave upon the heart, the deep impressions of 
woe. Resignation bows to the righteous scep- 
tre of Heaven ; -.-bewails the mortality of man,* 
and drops a tributary tear to the memory of 
Jesus. It transfers the soul to a better worlds 
whose prospects alleviate temporal sorrows, and 
delight the eye of devout meditation, 

The most pleasing hopes are often destroyed,* 
by unexpected contingenciesyand the most pro- 
pitious prospects are cut off, and succeeded by 
painful and disheartening visions. Pleasures 
and blessings, that seem to be in our possession,^ 
elude our taste and mock our embraces. J3h^ 
appointments of various kinds throng the path 
of mortal life. The evils which they inflict, 
are grievous to the righteous, and both griev- 
ous and dangerous to all who are unacquainted 
with gospel discipline and a submissive spirit. 

The 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 77 

The heart of the youth glows with the fervours 
of exalted expectation. He portrays a'picture 
of life. Its shades are few ; its colours vivid 
and high. Time and experience, however, 
prove his fancy fallacious and the world a scene 
of painful vicissitude. His mind is soured ? 
the corruptions of his heart arise against the 
divine, government. The delightful mystery 
oftovc; the soft effusions of its enthusiasm ; 
the combined influence of hope and fear, of 
suspicion and assurance, with all that is dear in 
anticipation, may be turned into despair by* a 
frown or the cruel voice of denial. Those, who 
are in this predicament, and are unacquainted 
with submission, frequently fall a sacrifice to 
disappointment. They either give themselves 
to penance and sorrow, or rush into the scenes 
of dissipation, where life and love vanish away. 
The ambitious are liable to disappointment j 
their schemes are defeated ; their labour de- 
ranged ; they become envious at the better 
success of others ; they contract a morose and 
cynical disposition ; and trample alike upon the 
good of society and the honour of Heaven. 
Disappointed and deceived in our friends ; dis- 
appointed in the attainment and the quality of 
the objects after which we aspire, we need the 
aid of Heaven and the influence of resignation, 
in order to possess our souls in patience, our 
hearts in purity, and our consciences in peace. 

A spirit of submission entirely changes the 
effects of disappointment on our hearts and 

life. 



78 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION^ 

life. Oi;r early hopes are cut off, but this 
serves to restrain our extravagant calculations, 
correct our views,vand regulate our judgment. 
The incompetent nature of earthly objects with 
regard to our happiness inclines us to seek en- 
joyment in the improvement of the mind, the 
exercises of the heart, and the service of our 
creator* Should all out wishes be gratified, 
vain as we are, what multiplied miseries and 
accumulated wretchedness would surround us. 
Gur greatest good frequently lies in a direction 
entirely opposite to our hopeful researches and 
sanguine prospects, and the greatest evils are 
lurking beneath the most enchanting appear- 
ances. Disappointed in the objects of youth- 
ful affection ; torn from the delusive dream of 
seraphick excellence in human form, our sorrow 
drives us into seclusion for a time- Being re- 
signed, however, to the will of Heaven, ths~ 
walks of solitude inspire reverence ; the ener- 
gies of the soul are; recruited ; we turn from 
mortal charms to the beauties of Zion, and pur- 
sue again our course, prepared to meet, with 
pious fortitude, the allotments of Providence. 
When the schemes of ambition fail ; when out 
endeavors after riches, fame and secular great- 
ness are rendered fruitless ; our pride is hum- 
bled, and we are brought to feel the useful it®* 
pressions of our own weakness. Are we disapr 
pointed as to the<juality and blissful influence of 
attained objects ? the desires after glory and im- 
mortality^ awakened in our bosoms. Looking 

back 



SENTIMENTS on -RESIGNATION. 7$ 



nback upon life, many disappointments are known 
to have resulted in our benefit, and there are 
none whose places might have been filled with 
success, without exciting a suspicion that the 
present hour might have -been loaded with 
greater wretchedness, than we now experience. 
Had the mariner the command of the winds ? 
had he constant and cloudless prospect of sun 
and stars,, indolence and sloth would soon 
scatter their fatal dust upon his head, while 
the sons of resignation, who are tossed by the 
storm, driven from their course, experiencing 
the vicissitudes of light and darkness, safety and 
danger, would arrrve to their haven in health 
and vigour, and alive with the raptures of praise. 

Persecution is of ancient origin. From the 
death of Abel to modern times, it has labour- 
ed in scenes of martyrdom, rioting on the cries 
£ of righteous blood. Its empire is described in 
•history, and its terrours are delineated in the 
political and religious declamations of the pres- 
ent day, followed with ascriptions of praise, 
that its terrible triumphs are ended. Alas ! 
•this is but a dream concerning what we wish 
.might come to pass. Persecution still remains 
the same in design, and the same in malignity. 
It has merely altered its mode of ravage and 
its destructive weapons. It has exchang- 
ed the club for ridicule, the spear for soph~ 
istry, and the furnace for slander. It now 
spares Jihc body and destroys the consolations 
at the heart ; it cries peace to the passenger, 

but 



SO SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



but severs the anchor of the soul/ It does 
no violence to chastity, but destroys her sa- 
sacred asylum and her only delightful residence. 
Ridicule is a powerful weapon, in a warfare 
againft the children of light. The natural man 
can bear with better fortitude the chains of a 
prison than the sidelook sneer of enmity and 
the mocking finger of scorn. Young and tim- 
id piety is greatly disconcerted and perplexed 
by the power of ridicule. Those of greater 
strength of mind and faith are often as much 
confused by pointed laughter, as though they 
had received a warrant from the inquisition. 
The prayers of the righteous are held in deri- 
sion ; their faith and hope are denominated the 
mere rhapsodies of imagination. Under these 
trials, resignation furnishes the soul with an 
opportunity to fortify itself. It leads to a ju- 
dicious selection of companions, and height- 
ens the relish for the interviews of congenial 
souls. Satire is a weapon that is employed by 
persecution, and is more dangerous and harder 
to resist than vulgar ridicule. It discourages 
serious inquiry, and vexes t he household of faith ; 
it poisons its arrows in the abuses of religion^ 
and directs them to the bosom of Christianity. 
By the voice of satire we are called upon to ex- 
hibit the ensigns of distinction, wrought by 
grace, to favor the world with a view of our white 
raiments and unspotted hands. When overtak- 
en by calamity, we are invited to awake our 
humble Nazarene, that he may help in time of 

iation 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. gl 



trouble. By resigning ourselves to the Divine 
will, we are enabled to suppress a spirit of re- 
taliation-, to maintain a tranquility of mind, 
that is always necessary to our defence. We 
patiently endure these trials, and our ambition 
is awakened to furnish less occasion for sarcas- 
tick remarks, and to possess the spirit of him 
who endured the cross and despised the shame, 
for the glory that v/as set before him. 

Slander is employed, in effectuating the 
schemes of modern persecution. The most 
promising germs of genius are blasted by its 
breath ; the garments of praise are aspersed 
by its venom, and the visage of the pure in 
heart is snared by its fiery darts. Without 
the tranquil fortitude, which resignation in- 
spires, their slanderous attacks irritate our pas- 
sions corrode our hearts, and render us incapa- 
ble of attending, with propriety to the duties 
of life. Thus our progress, in sacred science, 
is impeded ; piety is driven into seclusion ; and 
religion trembles in lifting her head before a 
persecuting world. Resignation conducts us 
to a refuge, where the Redeemer delights to ap- 
pear, and endue us with the armour of God, 
and enable us to triumph ever persecution, and 
to resist the ridicule, the satire, slander, sophis- 
try and violence that are exerted against Chris- 
tianity and the souls of its humble votaries* 
Oh ! persecution ! although thy labours be un- 
wearied and thy schemes dark and mischievous, 
it is possible to pass through thy bloody gates 
to everlasting glory. It is possible for the meek 
H and 



m SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



and humble objects of thy vengeance to be 
clothed in robes, that are washed, in the blood 
of the lamb, while thou art irrevocably doomed 
to chains of .darkness and despair. 

Our contemplations, upon old age are infjjsed 
with melancholy, .reverence and dread. In ad- 
vanced life, the energies of the body are enfee- 
bled ; the exhilarating hopes of the world are 
faint, the senses are .impaired, and the . relish 
for pleasure lost in languor. Theactive scenes 
of life invite the approach and participation of 
.the aged in yam. The rigid law of infirmity 
gradually diminishes their sphere of .action and 
reduces it .to, a circle of small dimensions in 
domestic retirement, at is impossible to sup- 
press a fear 5 that they have seen for the last 
time, the bloorn of the field, and that the vin- 
tage and the harvest will be repeated no more 
.before their eyes. The young, and the unthank- 
ful watch like spies for that hour, when the 
inheritance will t be theirs. These circumstanr 
ces mingle a melancholy with our thoughts 
upon age. Jt is a command of Heaven, " thou 
shalt rise up. before the hoary head and honour 
the face of the aged;' 1 .In viewing those, whose 
life is greatly prolonged, we feel the impressions 
of preserving goodness associating with them 
the sentiments of immortality : on, the silvered 
brow and furrowed feature, we may read, this is 
not your rest, JHaving then .knowledge purged 
by experience from the errors of youthful spec- 
illation, they are enabled to counsel their fol- 
lowers, and to point out^ before, them, the dan- 
gers 



SENTIMENTS' on RESIGNATION: 



gers and delusions of the way. Separated from 
eternity, by the journey of an hour, their looks, 
their language and waiting attitude suggest sub- 
lime and solemn ' thoughts;, and make us ex- 
claim, who had not rather be Jacob leaning on 
his staff, than Jacob toiling- in the field for La- 
ban ? 

The evils of did age are incurable ; they will 
terminate only in the grave. The few, who ar^ 
rive to length of days, must endure the pains 
of beholding their grace and comeliness con- 
verted into decripitude and infirmity. They 
call for the companions of early life, but they are 
gone; to return ^o more. They are neglected 
by the gay and active ; they are suspicious, that 
they shall weary out, by their helplessness, the 
patience of their friends. They are rapidly de- 
scending the declivity of life y the clarion of 
praise ceases to' salute their ears ; and they 
gradually become more unknowing and un- 
known. These are thoughts that excite a 
dread in our bosoms, to become old, impaired 
and helpless. In order to render old age sup*- 
portable, and to ameliorate its condition, we 
must possess and cherish a submissive spirit. 
Formed for action and appointed to toil by the 
destinies of Heaven 5 employment becomes 
almost essential to life, By the stem controul 
of age, we are driven from business, and are 
scarcely allowed to be spectators to the cccu* 
pations of the world. Delightful to the hus- 
bandman are the vicissitudes of home and ab~ 
sence r of labour and rest*. With what pleas* 



£4 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION; 



ure, does he return from the culture of the 
field, or from his journies ? He meets at his 
door the smiles of a companion, and informs 
her of the adventures and success of the day. 
Old age terminates these agreeable changes, and 
stamps his condition with a tedious sameness. 
Resignation here pours its composing influence 
upon his soul and prevents the poison of re- 
gret from reaching the heart. 

The statesman appropriates his time and 
talents to the public good. He devises saluta- 
ry laws and inculcates obedience. He investi- 
gates, with unwearied anxiety, the evils of gov- 
ernment, and labours to remove them. He 
guards against destructive innovations, civil in- 
quietude, and foreign dangers. When he is old 
and grey headed, he must retire from these 
scenes through the portals of resignation. 
Then will he participate the rewards of fideli- 
ty and be attended by celestial light in the 
evening of life, till he arrives to his grave. 

The aged are deprived of many pleasures and 
fashionable entertainments, which the young 
participate with unbounded avidity. This 
deprivation exposes their hearts to the torment- 
ing i nfiuence of envy, while they remain destitute 
of reconciliation. They behold the world par* 
taking of the gifts and bounties of Providence ; 
they are led by an envious disposition, to con- 
demn these good things, and to criminate those 
who are allowed to enjoy them. Hence arises 
that illiberal and morose style of behaviour, 
which too often characterizes advanced age, and 

excites, 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. SJ 



excites in us an aversion from its company. 
The endless variations of manners, under the 
busy empire of fashion ; thechanges, that are dai- 
ly produced in the features of society, are con- 
sidered as mischievous innovations, portending 
inevitable ruin. Peevishness discolours the 
things and - events around them, They forget 
that the world is the work of God, that its con- 
cerns are under his inspection and righteous con- 
trouh Thus, the decline of life is dark and 
dreary to the children of ^reconciliation. 

The aged are exposed to constant dissatisfac- 
tion and restlessness, which are tedious as pain* 
They impatiently pass from one season to anoth- 
er, wishing, if possible, to hurry the wheels of 
time. In the morning they long for the watch- 
es of the night; and when the night arrives, they 
long for the return of the morning. A spirit of 
irreligious inequietude sharpens their distress, 
and aggravates this part of their burden. The 
consolations of the heart are all destroyed, in op- 
posing the counsels of the Almighty ; and every 
ray of sustaining hope is extinguished^ in resist- 
ing his willv 

The sensations of present enjoyment are 
heightened and endeared by memory and reflec- 
tion. These powers may furnish the mind with 
an assemblage of delighful images, drawn from 
the scenes and events that are past. The aged 
peasant, during the inclemency of the sommcr, 
will seat himself beneath the shade of the ma- 
jestick elm, and to evade the heat of the day, to 
bathe in the cooling breeze 5 and to muse on 
H 2 the 



86 SENTIMENTS ox RESIGNATION. 



the times that are gone. He will address us in the 
following manner. " I am now bowing under 
the weight of years and infirmity. When I se- 
lected this spot for my residence, it was a drea- 
ry wilderness. I spared the tree under which I 
am now seated, when its size was less than the 
staff, which I hold in my hand. These fields 
were called from the forest, by the sweat of my 
brow. I have been blessed with a family, ma- 
ny of whom are now sleeping in the dust. I 
have been blessed and afflicted, but through the 
spirit of grace this precious promise has been 
applied to my sou! ; ,? "all things shall work to- 
gether for the good of them, that love God 
He will also narrate the distinguishing achieve- 
ments and hazardous adventures of early life. 
He will show us the wounds he has received, 
in battle ; but refer us to the greater glory of 
being a faithful soldier under the great captain 
of our salvation. 

Reading is a source of comfort, secured 
by resignation, to the aged. Many precious 
hours are rescued from listlessness and te- 
dious languor by attention to books. In this 
employment, they discern, with delight the 
similarity between their own sentiments and the 
sentiments of those, who have signalized them- 
selves in the paths of virtue, and have gone to 
rest. Reading revives those ideas, which once 
enlightened and entertained their minds, and as 
the visit of friends with whom we were famil- 
iar, is rendered the more delicious from the cir- 
cumstance of long absence, so their ideas and 

conceptions 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. ST 



conceptions return upon them with enhanced 
delight. To retrieve a single thought from 
forget fulness is like finding and recognizing some 
valuable article which had been lost for years, 
and concerning which we had forgotten, that it 
ever was our own. This employment fortifies 
them against the disheartening effects of infir- 
mity. When their strength fails, they are ena- 
bled to adopt this language, when we are weak* 
then are we strong. 

The objects of devout meditation are not 
diminished by time and age. Heaven is as 
wide, when we behold it from the brink of the 
grave, as when we descry it from the threshold 
of active life. Those temporal objects, that 
are worthy of our thoughts, may all be summon- 
ed to appear before us, when our days are near- 
ly numbered. From the wide field of medita- 
tions the aged receive many sustaining and use- 
ful consolations. By these sublime employ- 
men ts^ire prepared for the scenes of a future 
world. Their resignation, by its composing and 
tranquil influence, enables them to enjoy their 
God, while the tabernacles of clay are gradual- 
ly bowing to mingle with their kindred dust. 

By the pious exercises of resignation the aged 
are delivered from a peevish and querulous dis- 
position against men and things. Their ap- 
pearance and conversation command our re- 
spectful and affectionate regard. Their gravi- 
ty is meliorated by cheerfulness ; their actions 
are expressive of benevolence, and we listen to 
their counsels and desire entertainment and in- 
struction 



88 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION 



struction from their society, Surrounded with 1 
the unwearied vigfis of friendship and affection y 
attended by the smiles of heaven, they cheer- 
fully and patiently wait for the manifestation of 
the sons of God. 

But few of the human race are so delighted 
with the present style of existence, that they 
would wish it unalterably prolonged to endless 
duration, The dissatisfying nature of all tem- 
poral things, our restlessness under the cumber- 
ous shackles of clay, cause us to aspire after a 
style of being, that is more perfect and blissfuk 
We fondiy indulge the hopes of a glorious im- 
mortality till we arrive to the very boundaries of 
time, whence we all descend with reluctance into 
the valley of death. We trembleat the thought 
of the silent grave, and even piety and faith 
linger on its brink, that they may pour out 
their prayers to God, perform a few more duties 
and receive some additional illuminations of as- 
suring grace. How dreadful* must death appear 
to those who possess a spirit of irrecanciliation ! 
In vain may they invoke their philosophy ; in 
vain may they call upon the boasted virtues. 
The world and all its objects can be of no more 
value to them, than the phantom, that floats in 
the air. The body must be dissolved, and they 
know not, in what forms they shall- appear 
hereafter. The features of eternity are ? soon to 
be revealed before them and the awful majesty 
of a righteous tribunal, where- the soul must 
receive sentence according to the deeds of mor- 
tal life. Far different are the feelings and ex- 

4 ercises 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 89 



ereises of the resigned, in approaching their 
great change. They are inspired with a tri- 
umphant fortitude, through the manifestation? 
of the Pivine presence. 

Of the powers of the soul and the functions 
of the heart natural affection is one that ia 
least corrupted, enfeebled and perverted by de- 
pravity. It appears among the earliest emo- 
tions of the heart, maintains its agency through 
the cares and ills of time. It outlives the en- 
ergies of the understanding ; it is often wake- 
ful and active, when the passions are extinguish* 
ed by disease and age , and its flame is felt in 
the bosom, till the last spark of life expire. 
With what imbittered agony must the irrecon- 
ciled parent leave his tender offspring, and go 
down to the mansions of the dead ? This dis- 
tress is removed from the subjects of reconcilia- 
tion. Confiding in the goodness and mercy 
of God, they cheerfully commit the charge of 
the cradle to his guardian angels and intrust 
to his providential care their surviving relatives ; 
rejoicing that he best knows how to mingle the 
cup of life with joy and grief, that he can bring 
them, at his holy pleasure, into a pure and un- 
defiled inheritance, where kindred souls shall 
meet to be separated no more. 

Dreadful to the wicked are the ravages of 
the grave on the body ; forbidding is the land of 
forgetful ness ; and intolerable is the apprehen- 
sion of retaining forever a remorseful conscious- 
ness. From these Terrours the humble and sub- 
missive are exempted. Thev are favored, with 

strength 



«r SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION 



strength of thought, sufficient -to detach sensa* 
tion from the grave y they are persuaded that 
the soul may %&k\t unmolested in glory, while 
the body is mouldering in the receptacle of the 
dead. They rejoice in the hopes of a resurrec- 
tion, and concerning the: entertainments of 
another world they are not perplexed. In the 
visions of faith, they discover inexhaustible 
sources of joy, and rivers of pleasure, that flovV 
forever, at the right hand of God. They re- 
ceive the pangs of dissolution without dismay, 
and through the blood of the lamb, they ob^ 
tain a glorious triumph over the king of ter- 
rors. Being reconciled to the Divine will and 
prepared by his grace for an exchange of 
worlds, the desires of temporal existence retire 
from the heart, and leave an unmolested resi^ 
dence to the delightful sentiments of immortal 
life. In the present state they are attended 
by a variety of evils and encumbering carest 
Polluted thoughts and vain imaginations in- 
trude upon their solemn scenes, and tarnish 
their purest devotions. Their love is often 
languid ; their faith beshrouded with doubts ; 
and their hopes mingled with a bewildering 
anxiety. They are convinced, that corruption* 
depravity and sin can never follow them be- 
yond the gates of death. There the soul shall 
be released and admitted into the pure and de- 
lightful service of God and the Lamb. 



CHAPTER 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 91 



CHAPTER 1¥. 

A SERIOUS QUESTION CONCERNING .RESIGNA- 
TION EXAMINED. 



T^HE requisitions of the gospel are 
founded in wisdom, and are agreeable to the na- 
ture and fitness of things. Their limits are 
prescribed, and made to correspond with. the 
measure and extent of the powers we possess, 
and with certain principles of action and affec- 
tions, suitable for rational and accountable be- 
ings. Hence all attempts to outdo di vine : re- 
quirements are hazardous and presumptive. 
They expose us to be justly denominated over- 
much righteous, and wise above what is writ- 
ten. n All ages however have produced in- 
stances of supererogation. -Often is the law of 
self-denial extended to abstinences dishonora* 
ble and injurious. Penance is heard to groan 
from her gloomy cell, refusing to smile in pre- 
sence of celestial benignity, or receive with 
gratitude the rich munificence of divine boun- 
ty. Charity is sometimes found extending her- 
self to extravagance, violating the principles of 
self-preservation, and procuring by its excess.an 
inability to perform the benevolent duties of 
life. Cases of this practical extravagance are 
more rare, than those of extravagance in. doc- 
trinal speculation. There is a prevailing pro- 
pensity in our nature to enter the fields of sup- 
position in quest of evidence, to illustrate the 

qualities 



m SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



qualities of the heart, and the disposition of 
the soul. We frequently hear men declaring 
that they would give the world, to alleviate the 
distresses of a fellow mortal ; that they would 
become a sacrifice for the good of their coun- 
try ; that they would be exiled forever from the 
bosom of their God, could it procure for others 
an everlasting residence in the light of his coun- 
tenance. We are now to inquire whether re- 
signation imply a willingness to receive the sen- 
tence of condemnation in any possible case ? 

Religion is designed to promote and secure 
our happiness ; to purify and enhance our en- 
joyments. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, 
and her paths peace. A practical regard to her 
sublime doctrines, obedience to her holy dic- 
tates and righteous precepts ennoble the soul, 
and furnish it with constant and delightful en- 
tertainment. A performance of the duties 
we owe to ourselves, our neighbour, and our 
Cod y the religious exercises of the heart, and 
the enlightened energies of the understanding 
pour a blissful influence on life. Repentance 
is justly denominated a work of imbittered an- 
guish. The soul surveys the sins of life, feels 
the compunctions of guilt, and is overwhelmed 
with sorrow. Still however this dark and pain- 
ful exercise is connected with consequent 
light and joy. It opens the only avenues, 
through which the promises of mercy are to be 
received. It leads into the possession of 
precious and sustaining hopes, under whose in- 
fluence we should refuse to exchange the tear oi* 

contrition 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 93 



contrition for an ocean of sensual delight. We 
are also required to suppress and govern our 
passions, and to eradicate the unhallowed de- 
sires of the heart. But in this employment we 
are by no means destitute of agreeable sensations. 
We return from the conquest of an evil passion, 
bearing those laurels of victory, which transcend 
the richest emblems of martial glory . A glow- 
ing satisfaction pervades our bosoms, whenever 
we resist with success the attacks of temptation, 
or evade the dangerous allurements of tlie 
world. Selfdeoial too is a work of the spirit, 
through which the deeds of the flesh are mor- 
tified ; and is always attended with arduous 
conflicts. It secures however the benediction 
of conscience, and furnishes matter for delight- 
ful reflection. — Thus every branch of religious 
duty, every gracious exercise of a new and 
divine life is accompanied by invaluable conso- 
lations, which increase in proportion to the purity 
of the motives by which we are actuated, and 
in proportion to the style and character of our 
exercises. 

But, if resignation imply a willingness to re- 
ceive the irrevocable sentence of condemnation, 
it must of necessity be stripped of its consol- 
atory and sustaining effects. For so long as 
we are susceptible of pain or joy, the thought 
of banishment from the presence of God must 
be distressing. How can the soul endure the 
awful apprehension without being overwhelm- 
ed with anguish and terror ? If it be willing 
I to 



3* -SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION 



to be rejected, it must apprehend the moral 
possibility of being a, child of God, and con- 
verted thence into a child of wrath and diso- 
bedience j otherwise this pretended willingness 
is but an empty sound. It would be cr the 
same amount with a proclamation from cur lips 
that we would willingly walk in darkness shouftj 
the sun ,be extinguished from the fumament. 
Does resignation therefore impiy ucn a willing- 
ness.? itmust^militate with the doctrine of per- 
severance ; since it supposes it possible for souls 
ihat are purchased by the blood of the Lamb, 
to be separated forever from the love of God. 
The consideration must be painful to the heart 
of the believer. Rut resignation harmonizes 
with all the doctrines of the gospel. Jt is an 
exercise that alleviates our burthens 5 heightens 
our. joys and illuminates our hopes. It never 
leads its subjects into the trackless field of sup- 
position and conjecture. Nor does it imply a 
willingness to receive eternal condemnation ; 
since the sacred scriptures no where intimate 
that we are to taste of the heavenly gift with 
lips of such purity 5 that we are willUig to ex- 
change it for the cup of eternal wrath. 

Does resignation require a willingness to meet 
the wrath of God in any practicable or possible 
instance ? it destroys at once the love of life. 
This principle is implanted in our bosoms by 
the hand of our Creator, and is indispensably 
necessary to our natural and moral condition, 
it prompts us to provide for our frail bodies, to 

avoi<3 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. ^ 

♦avoid the evils by which we are surrounded, 
and to enliven and protract the powers and en- 
ergies of the scurf. As this principle is corrupt- 
ed and enfeebled, the motives of religion are 
rendered fruitless ; our agency is controukd by 
the cravings of appetite and the instinctive at- 
tempts to avoid pain; Are the delightful sen- 
timents of existence" extinguished, suicide, 
strangling and death become the choice of 
mankind. They feel no reluctance in snatch- 
ing from the king of terrors the cup of disso- 
lution, and bearing it to their own lips, la 
vain are the votaries of intemperance exhorted, 
to relinquish their self destroying habits. The 
love of being is overwhelmed with lust. They* 
hurry the shadow around thffe dial of time, and 
dread but little its arrival at that point, where 
a life, to which they have no attachment, must 
terminate. If we can awake from slumber their 
love of life, persuasion becomes a hopeful la- 
bor, and we find them returning by the path of 
reformation to that being, from whom they 
have revolted, Religion cherishes and preserves 
from dereliction the love of life, and consecrates 
to immortality the charm of existence. Upon 
this ground alone are we truly susceptible of 
divine goodness in calling us into being, endowing 
us with rational powers, and preserving our con- 
sciousnes from oblivion. The threatenings of 
the holy Divinity are addressed through the 
fears of the heart to the love of being. " In the 
^ day, that thou eatest thereof, thou shait sure- 

45 y 



« SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



" ly die." " This day I set before you life 
and death." But what penalty would there 
be in the denunciations of death* if all the de- 
lectable feelings of existence were destroyed ? 
The rewards also, which our religion graciously 
promises, address the love of life. " Come ye 
4f to the waters of life." C€ And it shall be un- 
" to him a well of water, springing up unto 
" everlasting life," " Be thou faithful unto 
" death, and I will give unto thee a crown of 
<€ life." W ere we in any case or by any means 
to lose the pleasure of existence, these promises 
would become but feeble incitements to duty. 
Their influence upon our characters and upon 
our souls would scarcely be an object of dis- 
cernment. 

If it be asserted that c our willingness to meet 
the wrath of God does not destroy the love of 
life we demand an example, in which the 
subject of condemnation has retained the love 
of being, after the hopes of enjoyment were en- 
tirely extinguished. Were it possible for the 
christian to be banished from the bosom of the 
Redeemer, with all his boasted willingness, his 
voice would mingle with the cries of the multi- 
tude, " who shall call upon the rocks and the 
? mountains to tall upon them." This conse- 
quence,, however, is evaded by the opinion, that 
the christian's willingness to become a subject of 
wrath is an evidence, that his name is engraven 
on the palms of God's hands and inseparably 
united with Christ. If so, why is it said that 



sisflrmmSTS o*r resignation. H 

we must be willing to be damned rather, than 
to be converted into flying serpents, or green- 
eyed reptiles ? For the evidence is as strong in 
favor of this change, as it is that the saint 
shall ever be turned into an object of divine 
vengeance. Upon this principle therefore alone 
can it be argued that the love of life is not de- 
stroyed, viz, that this extraordinary exercise of 
resignation is without end or object ; since the 
redeemed soul will never be doomed to furnish 
an actual proof, that she is willing to go away 
into everlasting^torment. 

In surveying the exercises of our hearts both 
in a convicted and in a converted state, we 
find no evidence in favour of the doctrine which 
the affirmative espouses; We are awakened to 
serious thoughts by the power of the divine 
word, or by the alarming voice of some afflic- 
tive dispensation; Our guilt and depravity ap- 
pear in terrific forms before us, The awful and 
momentous scenes of eternity, the apprehensions 
of being doomed to condign and hopeless pun- 
ishment fill our souls with dread and dismay* 
Afraid to die and afraid to be dead we at length 
experience a renovation of heart and spirit ; 
the chains of condemnation are broken, the 
hopes of Heaven are kindled in our hearts. 
We feel the pure and enrapturing effusions of 
divine love, and the pleasing testimony of the 
Spirit that our names are written in the book of 
life. In this emancipated and glorious situation 
b it a gospel requirement, that we must be wil- 
I 2 ling 



98 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



ling to turn our eyes from the charms of Hea*- 
*vzn y and go back into the chains of darkness,, 
and receive an irrevocable sentence from the of- 
fended Divinity I We recoil from the thought^ 
we dread a separation from the bosom of our 
beloved Redeemer. Does God withdraw ths 
light of his countenance r we are distressed,, we 
mourn, we pray for the return of his favor and 
loving kindness. It is possible to acquiesce un- 
der a temporal withdrawment of the holy spi- 
rit 5. for remaining grace may be sufficient for 
this purpose. Yet how can we assert that ws 
are,,.; or should be, willing to be condemned, 
when every subject of condemnation must cf 
necessity be destitute of that grace, without 
which we are incapable of the least exercise cf 
resignation ?. What can be more inconsistent* 
than the opinion that we should be resigned as 
christians, and at the same time be children of 
wrath ? For none but the children of wrath ars 
subjects of condemnation. And does God re- 
quire an exercise, to which there is no corres- 
ponding object ? Jf the christian be willing to 
have his name blotted from the book of life, it 
is well known that such an event can never take 
place. The exercise therefore is but an empty 
shadow. Acquiescence and resignation imply 
an existing* judgment, or some known purpose 
and counsel of God. Are we thus resigned to 
condemnation ?. it supposes an indubitable cer- 
tainty that the dreadful doom awaits us; oth- 
erwise we are only treading the path of conjec- 
ture 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION; $® 

ture and unwarrantable supposition. Our sub- 
mission to events without a discernment of that 
controuling Providence, by which they are 
brought about, constitutes no part of evangel- 
ical resignation. A fellow mortal is providen- 
tially doomed to descend from the splendour of 
secular greatness, and to assume a begging at- 
titude at the feet of his former servants. He 
may submit with philosophic firmness to the 
gloomy scenes of adversity , yet, if he have no 
conceptions of the divine will, his submission is 
no more, than a feat of human fortitude, or 
unavoidable compliance with the destinies of 
blind fatality. Acquiescence under bereave- 
ment, while the holy agency of God is unno- 
ticed and forgotten^ can never deserve to be de- 
nominated an exercise of pious reconciliation. 
If we are not alive to the impressions of the di- 
vine will, both in its restraining and constraining: 
influence > and if the glory of God have not 
the highest rank among the motives by which 
we are actuated ; in vain, as it respects our fu- 
ture felicity, do we cultivate an expansive be- 
nevolence ; in va'rn do we cherish a tender and 
officious chanty, and in vain do we punctiliously 
discharge the obligations of moral virtue.. The 
will of God is made plainly visible with regard 
to the exercises and duties of a holy life. It is 
announced by every trial and ealamity y by which 
we are overtaken. For, knowing that the very 
hairs of our head are all numbered by him, we 
mmt also be sensible of the overruling coun- 
sels 



XOO SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



sels of his will. On this ground patience, long-- 
suffering, acquiescence, and resignation, become 
the distinguishing graces of a renewed life. But 
whence are we to know that it is the will of 
God, that any christian will ever receive sen- 
tence of condemnation, or that he must be 
willing to meet- that dreadful destiny ? In what 
alcove of celestial records has he- deposited such 
counsel and pwpose ? On what mountain of 
2aob has he made proclamation, th#t some of 
the trophies of the Redeemer's blood must be 
banished forever from his presence ; and that 
all, who are purchased at so great a price, and 
whose knowledge of Christ is life eternal, must 
be willing to meet the event P' Hath it not been < 
declared, that the will of God determines the 
perseverance of the saint ? " My sheep hear my 
" voice. I know them and they follow me; and 
I give unto them eternal life, and they shall ne- 
•* ver perish." Hence it is undeniable, that the 
christian's willingness tb receive sentence of 
condemnation has no agreement with the di- 
vine will. It will not facilitate an escape from> 
this difficulty to say we are willing on sup* 
position, it should be God's will and for his 
glory. This amounts to no more, than a con- 
jecture of what we fhould do presumptuously 
supposing a case that implies mutability of the 
divine purpose. And it is no more an exercise 
©f resignation, than Peter's peremptory avowal 
of unabating attachment to the Redeemer was 
an actual adherence tQ him,, when accosted by 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. fOl 



ihe damsel. The exercise is less than a dream. 
For, do we dream of conquests, of rearing cit- 
ies, and of swaying the sceptre of empire ; the 
actual realization of these things is possible. 
Whereas by asserting that we are resigned to 
condemnation, if it should be the will of Heav- 
en, an impossibility stares us in the face. For eve- 
ry subject of condemnation must be as incapa- 
ble of pious resignation, as Satan is incapable of 
the hallowed fervors of love. 

The affirmative of this question often as- 
sumes another position, which involves equal 
difficulty and absurdity. In order to find a 
criterion by which we may judge of the state 
of others, the advocates of the doctrine enquire 
whether we are willing to be condemned, if it 
should be the means of procuring for others an 
entrance into the courts of glory ? This en- 
quiry supposes a possibility, that man may be- 
come the saviour of man ; or at least by a vol- 
untary reception of the sentence of death be- 
come the means of saving some* who would 
otherwise be lost forever. Whereas all the 
blood of martyrdom could not atone for a sin- 
gle sin ; and, were all the armies above to be- 
come a sacrifice, it would be insufficient for the 
redemption of the least polluted child of apos- 
tacy. There is no other name, than that of 
Christ, given under Heaven among men, where* 
by they can be saved. We have never beea 
informed of a soul, that was saved through the 
condemnatioa of auy subject of wrath. Do 

we 



102 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION; 



we say we are willing to endure eternal suffering" 
for the salvation of others ; we suppose an im- 
possible case of which no divine intimation 
has ever been given; We intrude upon the 
ground of presumption, where we are exposed 
to self-delusion and deception. Were an am- 
. bassador to be sent from God to the dying bed : 
of the saint with information, that a number 
of perishing souls could be saved in consequence 
of his condemnation, and of his hatred and 
rebellion against the Almighty then, nor till 
then, would it be proper to ask the question 
" are you willing to receive sentence of death, 
" to have your pkasing hopes extinguished, the 
" desire of life converted into a prayer forob- 
" livion and the love of God in the heart con- 
f 4 Verted into satanic malice What substance 
is there in being willing to suffer on condition 
that impossibilities become possible, and incon- 
sistencies consistent ?- The doctrine, -against 
which we contend, derives its ostensible sup- 
port from the declaration of the apostle, that 
he could wish himself accursed for his brethren* 
Xh the first place he does not say that he actual- 
ly wishes himself under this doom 3 but simp- 
ly declares an opinion, that he could willingly 
endure it for his brethren. Now does the 
word atcursed ever imply the actual infliction 
of the irrevocable: sentence of death r It is 
generly used to signify excommunication, the 
endurance of divine displeasure, and judicial 
suffering $ but does not imply endless deration. 

The 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. iQS 



The apostle therefore undoubtedly under a ve- 
hement desire for the salvation of his brethren 
meant to express his willingness to suffer the 
mofi poignant. anguish, the grievous trials and 
judgments of life ; could hp thereby be a 
mean in the hand of God of bringing others to 
the bosom of s Christ. This corresponds with 
that spirit, under which he exclaimed my 
H heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, 
" that they might all be saved. I rejoice in trib- 
" ulations ; for tribulation worketh patience, 
" and patience experience, and experience hope, 
" and hope maketh not ashamed. 3 ' The pow- 
er and goodness of God are conspicuously dis- 
played in changing the human heart, eradica- 
ting its native pride, purging away its corrup- 
tions, and supplanting its predilection for sin by 
a triumphant love of holiness. This glorious 
work of omnipotence creates a distinction that 
will continue undefaced, when time and its ob- 
jects have all expired. This attachment to ho- 
liness is not founded upon mutable principles ; 
nor is it to be exchanged for listless indifference 
or scornful aversion. It sits in triumph aipidst 
the horrors of persecution. It is raised to 
purer flames by the attacks of wickedness. 
The darkness of a prison, the gloom of solitude, 
the chains of slavery, can never procure its ex- 
tinction. Our affection for holiness is among 
the richest gems of christian excellence, and 
gives to existence an unfading charm. Delight- 
ful :s the assembly of the saints, who pray, and 

praise 



104 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

praise, and pour out their hearts in the pure 
effusions of devotion before their God. The 
scene commands our unreserved attention. It 
excites our feelings. It makes ^them partake 
of sanctity and the sublime solemnity of rever- 
ence. Holiness becomes the house of God 
forever; and the more we discover of its im- 
maculate features, the richer are our joys and 
entertainments. We view with peculiar satis- 
faction those aged christians, who have long 
walked with God, and in holiness of life at the 
right hand of Christ. We derive more. plea- 
sure from one devout expression, from one hal- 
lowed deed performed under divine illumina- 
tion ; than theatrical exhibition and courtly 
parade are able to bestow, We are enamour- 
ed with the emanations of the Divinity, wher- 
ever they are discovered in mortal life. We 
are charmed with the biography of our ances- 
tors. We recollect the attitude, in which we 
tiave seen them morning and evening praising 
their holy benefactor. The richest revenue of 
worldly joy is but penury in comparison with 
the joy we feel, while ascending with solemn 
steps the mount of Olives, whispering as we 
ascend, " our fathers worshipped in this moun- 
" tain/' Every holy exercibeof our own hearts 
is accompanied with celestial joy. How many 
days are rescued from wretchedness by the pro- 
pitious visit of a few holy and divine thoughts ! 
They are like those rare but cooling streams, 
which support and cheer the traveller as he 
s^gy^JPgH passes 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 105 



passes the desert. Do we turn our eyes to 
Heaven, its holy mansions engage our affec- 
tions. The pure and undefined in presence of 
the Redeemer, whose holiness gives an infinite 
loveliness to his character, kindle in our bosoms 
that sacred love of holiness which is essential 
to the believer's life. Now according to the 
affirmative of the question the christian must 
be willing to have his relish for holy things de- 
stroyed, and the pleasures, that he derives from 
the hallowed scenes of contemplation, removed 
forever from his participation. If he be willing 
to be condemned ; he is also willing to strip off 
his whitened raiment, to be clothed with the 
chains of depravity and death. He must be 
willing to trample beneath his feet the image 
of God, and assume the likeness of satan. In 
short he must be willing to hate and despise 
every object of celestial complexion, and to say 
unto corruption * thou art my father, and to the 
burning but never dying worm thou art my 
mother and my sister/ But where is the chris- 
tian, who does not recoil from the thought of 
loseing the stamp of divinity, which was reim- 
pressed upon him in that glorious moment 
when he was born from above, and created by 
God in righteousness and holiness ? For, were 
it required that we should be willing to be con- 
demed, we must be willing to possess all the in- 
fernal qualities with which the subjects of 
condemnation are clothed. 

A willingness in any case to be condemned is 
inconsistent with the christian's hatred to sin, 
K The 



306 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

The abhorrenceand hatred of iniquity are felt 
with the first glow of divine love in our bo- 
soms. We look upon sin with absolute detes- 
tation, assbeing the poison of fife, the plague of 
the heart, and heinous in the sight of God. 
We discover its odious features in ourselves. It 
involves us in the terrours of guilt. It diffuses 
its pollutions over our solemn and most serious 
scenes. It wraps in darkness many of the days 
of our life, and mingles our hopes with fear and 
doubt, ft procures lamentation and sorrow to 
our souls by removing us from the light of the 
divine countenance ; and above all it dishonours 
and offends the glorious majesty of Heaven. 
When we discover jt in .others, it there appears 
in undisguised and odious colours. No length 
of time can meliorate its visage. It gathers hor- 
ror from antiquity, heinousness from the present, 
and indignation and judgment from futurity. 
We hate its labours ; for they are labours of 
rebellion -and darkness. We hate its effects ; 
for they are indignation and wrath, tribulation 
and anguish. Notwithstanding all this, if we 
must be willing to be condemned, we must feel 
no reluctance in becoming ripened for such an 
event. With what propriety could the chris- 
tian be asked f Are you willing if it should be 

* for the diyine glory, to thrust from your lips 
f the cup of holy joy, and drink iniquity like 
? water ? Are you willing to hate, to blaspheme, 

* and to despise the God you have loved ? Are 
? you willing to renounce the works of righ- 
I teousness, and carry on an inveterate rebellion, 

'against 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. W 



^against your God? Are you willing to unite 
♦ with the powers of darkness, and crucify that 
' Redeemer on whose bosom you have delights 
4 fully reclined ; whose smiles you have denom- 
inated a Heaven indeed V AH these questions 
are comprised in this ,y are you willing -to be 
condemned forever ? For, if this Be answered in 
the affirmative, we announce at the same time 
a willingness to hate the Almighty, to despise 
his counsels, and to love and practice the sins 
and abominations, which we have above enume- 
rated, till our souls be prepared to drink with 
perfection the vials of wrath. 

The affirmative of the question is palpably 
inconsistent with the nature and form of the 
covenant of grace. On the part of the Divin* 
ity he engages to be our God, necessarily im* 
plying by such engagement immutability of 
purpose. Believers on their part uncondition- 
ally engage, that through his quickening and 
sustaining grace they will be his obedient chil- 
dren. But, if resignation require, as an holy 
exercise, a willingness to be condemned y our 
covenant must agree with this doctrine. Then 
will it consist in something like the following 
form. " Heavenly Father, we engage to hon- 
our thee so long* as it shall be thy uill and for 
thy glory. But should thy will require it, we 
are willing to receive the sentence of death, and 
to asperse thy name. 5 We engage obedience to 
' thy lawi* so long- as it shall be thy will ; but 
$ when thy glory makes the demand, we will no 
4 longer desire a knowledge of thy. ways. We 

< will* 



108 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



' will breathe our venom upon the cause of reli- 
4 gion, and upon the cross of Christ/ For it 
amounts to all this, when we say that we are 
willing to be condemned. But does the cove- 
nant of grace ever imply a possibility, that we 
should be required to be piously willing to seek 
the honour and glory of God in any other path, 
than that which leads to the gates of heaven ? 
God, in order to manifest the immutability of 
this counsel and covenant, hath sworn by twa 
immutable things. Why then will the christian 
dare to affirm, what he would do, when an ac- 
tual call to that purpose must make the Divin- 
ity mutable ? It is morally impossible to be pi- 
ously resigned to condemnation. Actual resig- 
nation can never precede the consciousness of 
being. Are we informed that in some future 
time there will be a call for us to exercise char- 
ity upon an object, which will then exist ? we 
purpose to comply with this call, when the ex- 
istence of the object and other circumstances 
shall render it practicable. But this previous 
purpose is by no means an actual deed of chari- 
ty* The sinner may say that he is willing pre- 
vious to his death to repent ; yet this assertion 
is far from being an exercise of repentance. 
With what propriety can we proclaim, that we 
bear with fortitude a burden that never has 
been imposed upon us ; or that we patiently en- 
dure a chastisement, which never has been inflict- 
ed ? The very form, in which the affirmative of 
the question is constructed proves the impossi- 
bility of the exercise which we deny. 4 1 am 

< willling 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



109 



' Willing to be condemned, if it should be God s 
' will. * The condition,' here inserted, proves 
the present non-existence of the exercise. If 
the doctrine of christian perseverance be true ; 
it is morally. impossible, -that he should acqui- 
esce under and be resigned to condemnation ; 
for such an event can never overtake him. To 
what then is he resigned, and where is the end and 
object of such resignation ? He is resigned to 
just nothing.. Thus it is evident that the doc-" 
Vine is visionary, resting entirely, upon supposi- 
tion and conjecture* 

The idea of entire submission and unreserved 
resignation is thought by some to countenance 
and support the affirmative of the question. 
Unreserved resignation requires us to renounce 
and dissolve an unbecoming attachment to alt 
the objects of time and sense. By a variety of 
% motives,consisting in selfishness, in pride, in the 
desire of honour, and the propensities to pre- 
sent security, we may be induced to reject from 
our intercourse many forbidden things, reserv- 
ing to ourselves a favourite number, upon which 
to lavish the whole energies of the heart. Should 
we reduce all our idol gods to a single image, 
we are still at an infinite distance from genuine 
worship ; for this remaining jmage may . entire- 
ly command the powers and exercises of the 
soul. The work of renunciation then must be 
thorough and unreserved. Should we preserve 
our favourite passion unrestrained, or one lust 
unmodified, we thereby preserve a source of 
pollution, sufficient to overwhelm and extin- 
K z guish 



110 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

guish every spark of divine love, and every pi- 
ous principle of the heart. We are required to 
make an entire surrender of all our sensual plea- 
sures ; but does this prove that we must be wil- 
ling to be condemned ? It is our indispensable 
duty to submit to the divine will in all the 
works of obedience. The outward observance 
of a part of his laws and statutes would not 
distinguish us from the unbelieving world. Our 
obedience must be punctual and thorough ; 
though it require the extinction of pride and 
the abandonment of a thousand alluring- joys. 
Does this prove that we must be willing to re- 
ceive sentence of condemnation ? Unreserved 
resignation requires us to acquiesce under all 
the dispensations of Divine Providence, and to 
tread with willing steps that path of tribulation 
and sorrow, into which we may be called by the 
wise Counsellor above, who knows all the pro- 
portions of light and darkness, of pain and joy, 
and of hope and fear, that are necessary to bring 
us to the gates of glory. According to the gos- 
pel requisitions we are bound to submit our- 
selves into the hands of God, to overrule our 
life and the concernments of the soul according 
to the dictates of his ho 1 y will and pleasure. 
This surrender is made by the christian under 
the cheering illumination of faith, and the con- 
solatory influences of a well-grounded hope. 
With unmurmuring fortitude we submit to the 
trials and sufferings, which are brought upon us. 
Yet we have no exercise in this, which in the 
least resembles a willingness to endure the wrath 

of 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. Ill 

of God forever. Like Moses we choose rather 
to suffer with the people of God, than to enjoy 
the pleasures of sin for a season 4 . We run with 
patience the christian race that is set before us 
looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of 
our faith, who for the joy that was set before 
him endured the cross, and despised the shame. 
The exercises of unreserved resignation are al- 
ways subjoined with this petition to the sover- 
eign controuller of all events ; do thou more 
and better for us, than we are able to ask, or 
think. And it would be more in conformity 
with the deepest depravity, than whh the divine 
pleasure, should our resignation include a wil- 
lingness to become the vessels of wrath fitted 
for destruction. It is a lamentable circumstance, 
that entire submission is so much wanting among 
many, who entertain the pleasing hopes of Hea- 
ven. It also deserves a tear, that any should 
think, that by unreserved reconciliation they 
must be willing to become irreconciled, and 
wander in hopeless exile from the love of God. 
Slumbering on the lap of carnal security the 
apostate world have no conception of the na- 
ture and character of the divine law. The im- 
mutable basis, on which it is founded, its righ- 
teous and unyielding demands, and the holi- 
ness of its principles, are all wrapped in dark- 
ness before their eyes. Do they believe there 
is something, which bears the name of divine 
law ? they are not alarmed by any apprehension 
of its dreadful execution upon them ; but en- 
ertain a delusive hope, that a few days devot- 
ed 



112: SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



ed to the works of obedience in any future 
and convenient season, will be fully sufficient to 
secure the privileges and benefits of the sons 
of God- It is a peculiar effect of renewing 
and quickening- grace to reveal the divine law; 
and enlighten the mind with just views of its 
character. It now appears in its amazing height^ 
and depth, and length, and breadth, infinitely 
holy, -and essentially equitable.* This view of 
the divine law is always accompanied with live- 
ly conceptions of our sins and transgressions* 
We discover their heinousness and turpitude* 
a«d are persuaded that no mortal can be justi- 
fied by the deeds of the law. There is suffi- 
cient defect and impurity in cur most exalted 
virtues, and in our most hallowed services, to 
extinguish foiever the hopes of salvation upon* 
the ground of perfect obedience, which the law 
demands. " Without the law," said the apos- 
tle, " I uas alive once ; but, when the com-" 
maiidment came, sin revived, and I died." Un- 
der a knowledge of the divine law, and the con- 
sciousness of his great guilt, every, true believe? 
is constrained to acknowledge, thar he has no 
claim to the divine favor, and that it would be 
just in God, should he cut him off* and make v 
him as miserable, as he has made himself sin- 
ful ; and he will ever gaze with pious wonder/ 
upon that triumphant mercy of which he is 
the spared and living, monument. But our* 
feeling that it would be- just in God- to 
consign us oui portion in the* chambers 
of death and despair furnishes no kind of 

proofs 



SENTIMENTS on, RESIGNATION. 113 

proof,. that we are, or possibly can be willing to 
endure eternal suffering. In the confession of 
our guilt we acknowledge that the throne of 
God would be forever spotless, had we been 
doomed to the wretchedness, we deserve. Yet 
by this it is never implied that we are willing to 
receive sentence of condemnation, any more 
than to drink of the cup of oblivion, or to rebel 
against the commandment ot God, and become 
converted into pillars of salt. The convicted 
criminal may realize and acknowledge the equi- 
ty of the law by which he is condemned. He 
may be convinced, that he juftly deserves to 
suffer the penalty, which it righteously demands. 
Still however he would gladly escape with impu- 
nity ; and hesitate not to us^ every exertion, 
which may possibly effectuate his purpose. Tha 
consciousness of deserving punishment in no in- 
stance implies a willingness to endure it, much 
less with the loss of life,and with the certainty of 
everlasting misery. Were it possible to suspend 
the dread and aversion from death ; would that 
render us the most suitable subjects for the re- 
ception of divine pardon ? Were we willing,.or 
could we readily become willing,, to receive the 
curse of God what feeble effects would the 
proclamation of pardon produce upon us \ But, 
while we fear and dread the sentence of death, 
the tidings of tivercy are enrapturing and we 
can never sufficiently praise that omnipotent 
hand, which hath brought us up from the 
gates of death, snatched us as brands from the 

burning 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



burning and made us the subjects of a blissful 
immortality. 

The doctrine, which the affirmative of the 
question announces, is attended with injurious 
effects, upon the cause of religion. Our holy 
religion is perfectly amiable, possessing .'-internal 
and intrinsic excellence. A practical regard to 
its sublime doctrines and righteous precepts 
furnishes a> glorious display of its worth and 
loveliness. The Divinity has wisely warned 
the worlds of the danger of deviating from its 
requisitions*, or incorporating : witiv them the 
idle chimeras o£ human speculation. She can 
derive- no advantage from ornaments and deco- 
rations, that are brought from the field of sup- 
position and conjecture. They only serve to 
veil her celestial image, distort her features, 
and diminish the power of her charms. The 
christian who imbibes the doctrines of the gos- 
pel, whose, life and manners are meliorated by 
their influence, who reveals the lovely forms of 
holiness and virtue before our eyes, commands 
the affection of our hearts, and inspires a fer- 
vent wish to walk, in* newness of life with the 
saints of God. On the other hand we may be 
present ed with piety under such colours, as are 
nearly forbidding. When its possessors discov- 
er an austerity of manners, and a sourness of < 
temper and disposition ; -when they rigidly main- 
tain the necessity of marvellous exercise, and 
establish their hopes upon evidences far without 
the sphere. of visible and oractical obedience to 

the 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 115 



the rules and spirit of the gospel ; when they 
pretend to frequent interviews with the angels 
and spirits; when they pretend to be instructed 
by audible voices ; when they pretend to have 
travelled in trances to the heights of Heaven, to 
the depths of the earth, and to the chambers of 
the morning ; when they attest the truth of 
these pretences with sighs, that chill the blood, 
and groans of deep distress 3 when they exhib- 
it these things, religion assumes an aspect entire- 
ly destitute of charm and attraction. Of this 
kind is the pretended willingness to receive con- 
demnation. This exercise is announced and 
deemed essential -to the evidence, that we are 
-the children of God. A band of believers pre- 
sent themselves before us, richly instructed in 
the school of experience. They are treading 
the path of Zion, surrounded by celestial light. 
They invite us to accompany them on their 
glorious journey > but proclaim ; u Ye also 
" must be willing to extinguish the love of life, 
" and at a moment's warning to strip off the 
" garments of salvation. Ye must be willing 
" to see your names erased from the book of 
" g' or y> an d enrolled on the register of infernal 
" spirits." From these requirements we shrink 
back with horror. Our path is darkened, our 
hopes languish, and the loveliness of religion 
ceases to pour its enchantment upon our souls. 

The doctrine, which is opposed in this chap- 
ter, is among those things which prejudice man- 
kind against religion. The feelings of the nat- 
ural 



ai6 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



ural heart are always ready to aid and confirm 
the errours of a distempered head. Exorbitant 
pretensions concerning patriotism, benevolence 
and religious exercise, cannot fail to excite sus- 
picion, and create aversion. Are these preten- 
sions inconsistent with practical truth ? do they 
contain the means of their own demolition ? we 
are generally willing to give them sufficient lat- 
itude to destroy in our view real and existing 
principles. The world is not careful to discrim- 
inate piety from its mutilated forms, nor religion 
from its abuses and corruptions. Thus they 
judge Christianity to be fabulous, and deny the 
celestial origin of religion. When we hear the 
ostensible friends of the gospel proclaimingsuch 
acquisitions of love and resignation, that they 
could willingly submit to condemnation ; we 
search the realms of moral agency, and all the 
records of divine requirement, and finding noth- 
ing to countenance such doctrine, we are liable 
to believe, that all religion is but an empty 
shadow. We should all do well to remember 
that Moses, when about to build the Taberna- 
cle, was admonished of God ; " see thou do all 

things according to the pattern shewed thee 
* c on the mount." Then will our " light so 
-* c shine before others, that they seeing our good 

works may glorify our heavenly Father. 
Were we actually willing to be condemned, 
what shocking effects would be produced in the 
conduct of life ! There is a connexion between 
our actions and our will, and every performance, 

that 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 11? 



that is destitute of volition, is but an empty- 
form. We are required to love our neighbours 
as ourselves ; and it is evident, we must love 
ourselves as our neighbours. If then we are 
willing to endure the wrath of God we are 
willing that others should likewise perish. 
What rational soul, however, would not be 
shocked at hearing us declare our willingness 
that our fellow mortals should become the sub- 
jects of condemnation ? We should behold 
their blood upon the skirts of our garments 
without alarm or dismay. And there is the 
same propriety in declaring that we will lead our 
fellow mortals to the gates of death, if it should 
be for the divine glory, as in asserting that we 
would become the subjects of condemnation 
upon the same supposition. Where then is 
our concern for the salvation of others ? To 
what amount are our exhortations, our warnings, 
that others may flee from the wrath to come ? 
It is happy for the world, that believers do not, 
and cannot practice in conformity with this 
doctrine of wild and extravagant speculation. 
And it is also happy that those who think they 
stand, are prompted by the holy spirit to take 
heed lest they fall. According to the wise ar- 
rangement of things, the edification of the saints 
is made to depend very much upon social in- 
tercourse, and upon reciprocal aid and instruc- 
tion. Peter was thus admonished by the Re- 
deemer : " When thou art converted, strength- 
P en thy brethren." Timorous faith solicits 
the befriending assistance of enlightened expe- 
L rience 



1*8 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

rience,and is often strengthened and confirmed 
by the counsel it receives. The brightest gem 
may lose its lustre in a. solitary residence > so 
our virtues . may be stripped of their essential 
properties, and expire in thexells of seclusion. 
Christian exercises are quickened and rendered 
brilliant by serious society, and they receive a 
lasting polish from devout association. Do we 
mingle with the righteous ? we discover in their 
sentiments and lives an actual exposition of the 
divine word, and a, clear illustration of the effi- 
cacy of its .doctrines.. The light of their ex- 
ample gives to the .momentous concernments 
of the soul a pleasing and encouraging aspect. 
Our serious inquiries are rewarded by acces- 
sions in knowledge, growth in grace, and by the 
blissful expansions of heavenly light. Persuad- 
ed that our temporal and eternal happiness de- 
pends upon a proper and unreserved submission 
to the divine will, we are all anxious to obtain 
a hopeful assurance that our submission is the 
pure and unadulterated offspring of grace. Do 
we enquire of those, in whom we have reposed 
an unsuspecting confidence.? and do they inform 
us, in solemn sanctity, that our resignation is 
but a paintqd bubble, floating upon the surface 
of troubled waters, unless we are willing to 
drink forever of the vials of divine wrath ? the 
cold tremors of doubt and despair pervade our 
hearts. The love of life, the love of holiness, 
the love of Heaven are all alarmed at the thought 
of their own extinction. Thus we are kept in 
ji distressing posture without the threshold of 

the 



the visible temple. We long for that table 
vvnose bounties are interdicted, and for a com- 
munion with that Redeemer, by whose blood 
we had indulged the hope that we were sprink- 
led, and united with the saints of the living 
God, Believers are often called to visit the 
sick and dying. It is a reasonable expectation, 
that we should enter their solemn chambers, to 
administer the balm of consolation. There is 
often a serious demand for our faithful exertions, 
in order to remove those bewildered thoughts, 
fears, and doubts, that are common to dissolving 
nature. Delightful is the consciousness of be- 
ing honoured as the instruments, employed in 
quickening the hopes and confirming the faith 
of departing piety, to assist with guaidian an- 
gels in procuring from dying lips the song of vic- 
tory. These agreeable effects however are pre- 
vented, when we demand a willingness of them 
to be condemned,- as an- indispensable evidence 
that they are the children of God. By ques- 
tions ot this nature we darken their prospects, 
enhance the pangs of agony, and encurtain a 
dying bed with terrour and dismay. Wandering 
beyond the boundaries prescribed to our agency 
by infinite wisdom* we are liable to convert in^ 
to torture the consolations of religion, and to en- 
velope ourselves and others in doubt and dark- 
ness. The above observations have all been 
made in sincerity. It is known they are not 
congenial to the speculative opinions of many 
renowned christians. It is believed however, 
that they are consistent with the rules and requi- 
sitions of the gospel. 

& r CHAPTER 



320 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



CHAPTER V. 

COUNTERFEIT RESIGNATION EXPOSED. 



TPhE picture of human life is crowd- 
ed with delusions. Jn this state of imperfec- 
tion, none are favoured with an exemption from 
their influence. The strictest vigils of philos- 
ophy y the most, assiduous precautions of re- 
ligious wisdom are incompetent to prevent their 
subtle encroachments. From the birth of time 
to the present day, man deceived has been the 
deceiver of man. By the artifices of aspiring 
ambition, how many miserable generations have 
been employed in forging the chains of slavery 
for their necks, while they fondly indulged a 
belief, that they were manufacturing gems and 
ornaments to bespangle their own garments ; 
yea, they have been employed in accumulating 
around them the poisoning darts of calamity, 
while they dreamed of strewing with flowers 
their path to the grave. Political delusions are 
not more frequent than those of a religious na- 
ture. What monstrous conceptions and adul- 
terous doctrines are palmed upon mankind by 
imposture, defended by bigotry, protracted by 
the collisions of parties, and consecrated by 
the assumed prerogatives ot p ous zeal. We 
d em it a reproach to our understandings and 
integrity to be deluded by our fellow creatures. 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 121 



We had rather endure fatigue and pains, than 
be decoyed into rest, through the avenues of 
designed enchantment. Hence we are prompt- 
ed to guard, with some degree of watchfulness, 
against the delusions to which we are exposed 
from the beguiling labours of men, Yet our 
vigilance is insufficient to procure us an eleva- 
tion above the empire of deception. Our de- 
fence against self delusion is naturally feeble. 
There are few fears to excite our caution, and 
no mortified pride to enforce a personal exam- 
ination. Thus we learn to live on fiction, A. 
pleasing phantom may become the staff of our 
life. Do our self delusions contain a promise 
of our temporal and eternal felicity ? We em- 
brace them with avidity, and oppose with vio- 
lence those solemn truths, which require the en- 
chanting pictures of delusion to be dissolved. 
Counterfeit resignation is among the religious 
delusions to which we are exposed. Depraved 
and wretched as we are, we fondly attach the 
name of resignation to carnal languor, to insen- 
sibility, and to our philosophic bravery. Are 
we enabled by a natural magnanimity to endure 
with unmurmuring fortitude the calamities of 
life ? we obtain an ideal rank for ourselves among 
the sons of evangelical submission. Knowing that 
tranquility and peace of conscience are the ef- 
fects of resignation, we suppose that every tran - 
quilizing influence arises from that source. 
The impaired patient who lingers on the verge 
of death, w hose slumbers are procured by opi- 
ates, not suspecting his critical condition, dreams 
L i himself 



122 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



himself into long life. Thus are the pangs of 
our moral distempers and the rising murmurs of 
the spirit suppressed by the slumberous nos- 
trums of self righteousness, or by the balm of se- 
curity ; vve flatter ourselves, that vie have escap- 
ed from danger, and smile as we give to our 
souls the counterfeit bloom of immortal health. 

The subjects of resignation are all supposed 
to be ready for an entrance into glory ; and 
can we pass the scenes of life, with quiet and 
composed steps ? Can vve, from any cause, de- 
clare that we are billing to die ? we are sure, 
that the surviving will believe that we sleep in 
Jesus* Though it excite the frowns of the 
world to expose its false religion and exhibit 
the deceft fulness of the human heart ; yet there 
may be some returning with joy from their en- 
chantments, praising their Maker, that their de- 
lusions were dissolved, and succeeded bv the 
hallowed forms of truth. 

Natural and revealed religion require us to 
resign and renounce all our sensual pleasures 
and dissipating amusements. These things 
generally cGntrcul the morning of life. The 
taste and feelings are then alive to their delicious 
influence, and the fancy uncorrected by the dic- 
tates of sober reason, promises a charm to eve- 
ry rising desire. As man advances, his predilec- 
tion to the gaudy vanities of sensuality gradually 
diminishes, and becomes supplanted by differ- 
ent propensities. The rigorous demands of do- 
mestic exigence, the objects of honour and am- 
bition, together with a variety of new attractions 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 123 

beget an aversion from the scenes of youthful 
folly. The chambers of hilarity are stripped of 
their delight before him, and he chaunts at the 
sound of the viol no more, Through the de- 
ception of the heart he easily obtains a belief, 
that he has taken an important step on his pas- 
sage to glory. He looks with indignant scorn 
upon the employments, that once constituted 
supreme delight to his soul. He displays to 
the world the ensigns of victory and triumph. 
Marvellous are the feats of victory over pro- 
pensities and pleasures that expired of them- 
selves. Marvellous toreiinquish the objects that 
are removed from us by unavoidable necessity ! 
This strong infatuation, however, becomes one 
of the subtle features in counterfeit resignation. 
Often do we suppose, that we have made very 
signal attainments in self denial, when in reality 
we have only lost our relish for illicit pleasures, 
or they are interdicted by the empire of fashion, 
and are counted incompatible with the pursuits 
of pride and honour. The imprisoned pirate, 
whose chains forbid him to go down again upon 
the deep, may boast of acquiring a triumph 
over the last struggles of a disposition to plun- 
der, while his chains are his innocence, and the 
bolts of the prison his virtue. In like manner 
may the exhausted voluptuary boast of surmoun- 
ting his sensual inclinations, while his abstinence 
is necessity, and his reformation a satiated appe- 
tite. Our lusts and our evil passions are liable 
to lassitude and decay. The flame oi lascivious 
desire is sometimes extinguished by its own ex- 

cess 3 



t24 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



cess, but more frequently stifled in consequence' 
of the little experience of the maladies it in- 
flicts upon its possessors. The fear of public 
disgrace may have a powerful influence in re- 
straining this polluting propensity ; and it is sure 
to languish with the diminution of bodily 
strength. 

From the cravings of sensuality it may be- 
come our greatest concernment to riot on the 
bounties of Providence,, We lavish our time 
and exertions in procuring luxuries, in compli- 
ance with the demands of a restless and extrav- 
agant taste. But appetite is liable to be worn 
out and vitiated by a licentious indulgence. 
Sickness, pain, and the distempers of the mind 5 
may abate its violence,, and change it into 
aversion.. 

An avaricious lust after the world is general- 
ly insatiable. Providential events, however^ 
may check its exhorbitant demands, and the oc- 
currences of time may repress its grasping rage. 
The solemn conviction, that we must soon leave 
our glittering treasures to an unthankful world* 
our splendid tables to the merriment of unknown 
successors, throws a forbidding discouragement 
upon the toils of avarice. When these effects 
are produced, we flatter ourselves, that by a 
noble magnanimity we have resigned and re- 
nounced our lusts.- Wrapped in delirious vis- 
ions, we believe our hands to be unspotted from 
the world ; we discover our souls purged, by 
moral alchymy, from their poilutions. We 
feel a security, while our hearts have experienced 

no 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



125 



no other change than the loss of power and op- 
portunity, to cherish its sensual delights, and 
pour its affections upon the polluted scenes of 
life. 

The retirement of our vices,, their diminutions 
and decay, furnish another ingredient in counter- 
feit resignation. Malice, hatred and revenge, 
with other passions of similar turpitude, have 
seasons of slumber and concealment. There 
are many, whose characters to human percep- 
tions are richly adorned with benevolence. 
Their malice is unawakened by provocation. 
Their wishes are gratified by the smiles of pros- 
perity, and their inclinations are neither crossed 
nor molested by civil discord. They gaze with 
bonder at the prevailing malice of mankind, 
and recoil from such instances of deep depravi- 
ty. They appear also possessed of a brotherly 
benignity. The envy of the heart is secreted 
from view, through motives of personal emolu- 
ment. For promotion and popularity are best 
attained, by breathing their kind and friendly 
wishes upon the world, by exulting in the joys, 
and feeling in a three-fold degree, the miseries 
and pangs of their fellow creatures. Their re- 
venge rankles in their breasts, but the finger of 
public scorn forbids its visible labours, and long- 
suffering and forgiveness are proclaimed as the 
brilliant emblems of christian distinction. 
Whereas a change of conditional circumstances 
may dissolve the specious glare of their excel* 
lence, and summon into dreadful energy their 
evil passions^ which appear like monsters, re-* 

plenished 



126 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION; 



pferiished vith viieness and strengthened by re^ 
pose.- Thus we delusively build our hopes 
upon the suspension of evil and upon neg- 
ative virtue, while our lusts and passions are 
neither resigned nor renounced, and while we 
have no acquaintance with that sovereign grace' 
which is necessary to their real extirpation. 
Our claims to faithful husbandry can be but 
feebly supported, when we pass the ground de- 
stroying the thorn and the bramble, but leaving 
the unsubdued soil to repeat its natural growtfr 
and produce its poisonous plants. Yet such is 
our delusion, that the suppressing of an evil pro- 
pensity, or the extinction of one vicious inclina- 
tion begets an opinion, that we have compli- 
ed with the requirements of self denial. We 
fold our hands to rest, while iniquity is rapidly 
ripening in our corrupt and unregenerate hearts, 
It is difficult to distinguish whether evil hab- 
its be renounced from selfish motives, or from 
the triumphs of gracious and pious principles. 
Man may be induced by a revived sense of de- 
corum and the natural love of character to dis- 
card many traits of conduct that are unbecom- 
ing. But this will constitute no title to true 
resignation. Evil habits are subject to a change 
of forms ; and it is often conjectured, that the 
evil is renouuced, when it is only concealed un- 
der new and less alarming appearances. What 
a variety of changes there are, through which 
the habit of intemperance may advance ! With 
the same character, it may pass from a glut- 
tonous reception of food, to an extravagant; 

use 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 12? 



aise of inebriating liquid ; and from these, into 
,an infinite variety of excesses. Other habits 
are subject to similar variations of form. Pre- 
sent habits and indulgences conceal their ini- 
quity and danger from the discernment of car- 
nal minds ; and men rejoice in the exploits 
which they have performed in renouncing the 
habits of evil deportment, while no deed of the 
flesh has been subdued by the spirit, and no 
gracious affection has ever glowed in their hearts. 
Vain are reformations, that are not followed by 
the fruits of righteousness. Transient are those 
hopes, which are not built upon grace ; and 
.counterfeit is that resignation, which renounces 
the world, but retains a rebellious spirit against 
the sovereignty of Heaven. 

The sip of idolatry has darkened the com- 
plexion of the ages, that are past, and tarnished 
with deep disgrace, the dignity of man; and its 
prevalence in the heatheq world, is still ac- 
Jcnowledged. An escape from idolatrous guilt 
furnishes a security to many of our fellow crea- 
tures. They believe idolatry to .consist in 
clothing, with Divine attributes, some warrior, 
sage or mortal goddess, in pouring out the praise 
of the heart to images of polished clay, and in 
burning incense to the invisible tenants of the 
sky. They can heartily boast of having re- 
nounced these impious and disgraceful practi- 
ces, as an effrontery upon reason and the im- 
mortal Divinity. They can now hear the aw- 
ful threatenings denounced against the chil- 
dren of idolatry without the least alarm, 

They 



128 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



They felicitate themselves that they have wash- 
ed their hands in innocence, and drawn around 
them the spotless diadem. Others of deeper 
thought, conscious that a supreme attach- 
ment to any created object is idolatrous, have 
•so manfully exerted their strength in the work 
of renunciation, that there is no remaining 
image having sufficient influence to command 
their reverence, their prayers, and the affections 
of the heart,. Destitute of divine love, 
shrouded in the darkness of depravity, they are 
composed, and cherish the pleasing hopes of 
Heaven. There are others, who may have 
been merely convicted of idolatrous sins, who 
may love and serve the Lord, from the good, 
they hope to obtain from his munificent hand. 
They may extol his name, through fear of pun- 
ishment, and detest the whole scenery of idol 
objects, in order to conciliate his favour. De- 
ceived by their specious but counterfeit em- 
blems of pious distinction, they enrol their 
names among the godly and the resigned, and 
while strangers to the cross, bearing the weapons 
of spiritual rebellion. 

In surveying the prevalent vices of the world, 
we naturally feel a peculiar pleasure, that our 
own agency has not been employed in their 
production. Not being chargeable with the 
profanation of holy time, blasphemous lan- 
guage, intemperance, violence, injustice ; our 
pride receives additional plumes, and we fancy 
ourselves the blissful objects of moral purity, 
and loudly vociferate our thanks, that we are 

not 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 12* 



not like other men. In like manner, we view 
the superstitious notions and deleterious doc- 
trines, that are current with mankind, and re- 
joice that they are not enrolled among the te- 
nets of our own faith. How often are we heard 
to describe the chimerical opinions of others, 
their absurd and pitiful platforms, exulting, 
that we are not blindly led to embrace these 
disgraceful religious absurdities. By proving 
that we are not the votaries of superstition and 
bigotry, we delusively arrive to the pleasing as- 
surance, that we are what we ought to be, in 
perfect conformity with Divine requisition. 
Great is the deceitfulness of the human heart, 
and great the danger of those sweet delusions 
in which it wraps our immortal souls. Were 
we allowed the privilege of naming before the 
tribunal of God ten thousand crimes of which 
we had never been guilty, and as many follies 
and absurdities, which we had cautiously re- 
signed and rejected, it would be but pronounc- 
ing our own condemnation, while destitute of 
holiness and the renewed image of the Divini- 
ty. Thus do we renounce the vices of the 
times and the false doctr »es, that prevail in the 
world. It may charm our souls to rest for a 
time ; but may leave a probability, that we al- 
so discard the doctrines of the gospel, that our 
purity is negative and our resignation of a coun- 
terfeit kind. 

Numerous are the refuges invented by the 
wretched subjects of apostacy. Their muni- 
tions of safety are constructed with the most 
M brittle 



180 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



brittle and perishable materials. They oftea 
consist in nothing more than visionary specu- 
lations, and the treacherous hopes of favour and 
strength, yet to be manifested. When these 
are deserted, they resort to the citadel, that is 
erected by the amicable charities of life, and 
the sole efficiency of the moral virtues. Being 
driven from this by the misgivings and fears of 
conscience, they seek their safety in long and 
sonorous prayers, frequent seasons of fasting, 
and sighs of solemn melancholy. Sensible that 
the atonement for sin must be procured by 
expiatory sacrifices and suffering, they think to 
co-operate with the lamb of God in this great 
achievement. Thus they retire to penance, 
mortify and torture the body, confident that 
they have left behind them every refuge of 
lies to be swept away by the hail. They make 
frequent mention of their ill deserts, their great 
sufferings and appear to long for opportunities 
to suffer more for the sake of Christ and his 
kingdom. With peculiar ease and readiness 
we conceal vital pollutions under the gaudy co- 
lours of a self-righteous mantle, and fondly 
cherish the belief, that we are the children of 
Heaven and her favourite sons, when h}pocra- 
cy is distilling its fatal poison upon the soul. 
The real christian enlightend by the spirit of 
truth, can well remember the rovings of a de- 
ceitful heart, the various positions he had taken 
for security, how often he had received ala m 
and again cried peace to his soul, before his 
pride arid enmity had been radically removed, 

by 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 131 



by grace, before he was constrained to be wil- 
ling in the day of God's power ; and before his 
resignation was rendered genuine by the trans- 
forming infusions of divine love. 

To resign the soul and all Its momentous 
concerns to the hands of God, fixes on man 
an everlasting distinction. Here, as in other 
things, we are liable to delusion. It is not dif- 
ficult to submit ourselves to the controul of 
Heaven, while the divine government wears a 
propitious aspect. There are visitations, which 
may awaken the rriurmurings of the heart con- 
trary to pievious opinion and expectation. 
Motives of temporal emolument and personal 
glory intrude upon us and maintain their influ- 
ence in disguise. In discriminating their agen- 
cy from the real influence of grace, the powers 
of natural discernment are thoroughly baffled. 
Could christian charity have ever suspected the 
insincerity and voluntary deception of many 
disciples of Jesus ? Had they adopted the fol- 
lowing, language : " We have forsaken the en- 
deared spot of our nativity, the delightful 
abodes of childhood and youth ; we have torn 
ourselves from the embraces of filial and con- 
gugal affection, and left them to mourn our 
absence - y and now, O son of God, we subject 
ourselves to thy government and the righteous 
counsels of thy will. Yet, when they w T ere in- 
formed, that the Redeemer's gifts did not con- 
sist of earthly splendour and secular distinction 
but of spiritual bread and the manna, that 
came down from Heaven, they forsook him and 

fled, 



132 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



fled. We may suppose ourselves entirely re- 
signed to the doctrines of Christianity, Are 
there any, however, that oppose our fixed opin- 
ions, requiring our debasement and humilia- 
tion ? we are ready to debar their influence and 
rank them among the secrets, that belong to 
the Lord. We lay down the weapons of re- 
bellion, bui wish to reserve some favourite toy 
and pleasure to beguile the hours of sorrow, 
and drive the rising gloom from the mind. 

There is a constitutional insensibility m 
some, that is easily mistaken for pious tranquil- 
ity and actual resignation, They are moulded 
to apathy and formed of fibres so obdurate and 
fixed, that it requires the warmest greetings of 
prosperity to excite a smile upon them, and 
when excited, the loudest thundering of ad- 
versity are scarcely competent to drive it away. 
They meet with the loss of friends, but this is 
insufficient to press the tear of sorrow from their 
eyes, or to wring one drop of agony from the 
heart. They discern the approach of publick 
calamity ; they observe its threatening aspect, 
yet they are free from fear and trembling, their 
slumbers are unmolested and their concerns are 
still preserved from derangement. Composure, 
bravery and peace of conscience being the no- 
table attributes of resignation, they have no 
hesitancy in maintaining their claims to its pos- 
session. 

Many, who are naturally susceptible of deep 
and lively impressions, become hardened under 
the influence of habit. The repeated strokes 

of 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



133 



of calamity benumb the powers of sensation 
and often enfeeble the energies of thought. 
Looking back upon our childhood, what trem- 
bling awe did then pervade our bosoms, in ob- 
serving, for the first time, an eclipse of the 
meridian sun ? In what solemn and fearful at- 
titudes have we listened to the voice of the 
winds roaring in the mountain forest. How 
sensibly have we felt the sweet emotion of 
joy and pity, as we viewed the panting dove es- 
caped from the deathly talons of its bloody 
pursuer ! And who can describe the thrilling, 
dread, we have experienced, when first inform- 
ed by maternal language, that we were dying 
worms hastening to the dust whence we came ? 
Tnese vivid susceptibilities are in a great meas** 
ure, destroyed by time and habit. We easily 
learn to behold the most dismal phenomena of 
nature without dismay. We hear the cries of 
agony from the beds of death without any 
very lively emotions. And the momentous 
realities of death and judgment can scarcely 
awaken a fear or command a serious thought. 
The noisy clarion of war, that awakens the ar- 
dour of the soldier, may be employed by habit P 
to lull the infant to ?leep„ Thus under the 
reiterated shocks of adversity and frowns of 
Divine Providence, we are liable to become 
hardened and unmoved with the impressions, 
which these things are designed to make upon 
the heart and mind. Possessing a calm and 
quiet disposition, we are not anxious to inquire 
whether it consist in the habitual sloth of feel- 
M z ing 



154 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



ing and stupid security, or in the exercises of 
pious reconciliation. We suppose we are re- 
signed to the Divine will, when we are only 
doomed to a sluggish indifference by the pow- 
er of habit. 

In conformity with the natural pride of the 
heart, we are prompted to endure disaster and 
what is usually denominated the misfortunes of 
life. The school boy, who can bear the chas- 
tisements, that are inflicted upon him with the 
fewest tears and least complaint, who is least 
affected by the accidental wounds he receives 
in the sportive gambols on the green, is at once 
entitled to the praise of his fellows for manli- 
ness and bravery. This disposition, which re- 
veals itself in childhood, is carried into the sue* 
ceeding stages of being, and into scenes, where 
its consequences are of a momentous nature. 
How many seem to exult in giving particular 
descriptions of the losses and calamities, that 
have marked their progress in the world. 
They deem it degrading to the dignity of man 
to allow a depression of spirits from unavoid- 
able trials. They delight to display their for- 
titude and their own strength, and hide their 
murmurings from others, until they become in- 
visible to their own eyes. They pass through 
all the vicissitudes of time, musing with delu- 
sive joy, on the fictitious portrait of resigna- 
tion. 

There are but few, who have the boldness to 
deny the rectitude of the holy Divinity. It 
comports with the fashion of the day to ac- 
knowledge, 



SENTIMENTS off RESIGNATION. 13* 



knowledge, that " whatever is, is right," and 
to announce, at leasts a speculative opinion, 
that all things will redound to the greatest 
good. These ideas are comprised in the savage 
song, and in civilized praise ; they are named 
alike by the lips of the infidel and the true 
believer. Under the weight of trial and ca- 
lamity we are prone to hope, that some ulti- 
mate advantage corresponding with our wishes, 
will succeed our troubles. The toils and fa- 
tigues of life are patiently endured under the 
sustaining expectation of arriving to great en- 
joyment. A speculative belief in the wise and 
merciful designs of God, combined with the 
hopes of obtaining, happiness, have a natural 
tendency to compose the mind, in meeting the 
afflictive dispensations of Heaven. The pains 
of a day or a night are easily charmed away : 
we are assured, they are but the pangs, that 
precede the birth of new and lasting joys. And 
do we expect that our afflictions will bring 
about that good, after which we are aspiring ? 
the murmurings of the heart are suppressed, 
and a philosophic but delusive calmness pervades 
the mind. Destitute of the gifts of grace and 
the purifying influences of the spirit, this calm- 
ness is resembled by the suspended commo- 
tion of troubled and unhealed waters : it depo- 
sits a deadly sediment in the springs of life. 

It is impossible to ascertain what men would 
do, had they power proportioned to the measure 
of their evil propensities. We are informed 
from Divine authority, that the heart is deceit- 
ful 



m SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION, 



ful above all things and desperately wicked ; 
that we have said unto the Lord, depart from 
\asr, for we desire not a knowledge of thy ways y 
and to the Redeemer we will not have thee to 
rule over us. But irresistible necessity curbs 
pur ferocity into a visible tameness, and keeps 
in concealment much of the malignity of na- 
ture. Born to dependence, we find ourselves 
surrounded by dangers and trials, from which 
there is no escape. We are more helpless than 
the fowls of the air ; for the eagle can soar on 
high, and leave the storm to roar and rage be« 
low ; and more helpless than the beasts of the 
forest ; for they can hear the sound of the horn 
and the prancing of the hunters afar eft and 
flee into refuge ; but man cannot evade by any 
possible artifice or physical strength the afflic- 
tions and calamities, to which he is righteously 
doomed. They enter alike within the portals 
of magnificence and the tent door of the pil- 
grim. They descend alike upon the fool and 
the philosopher. Experience speedily informs 
that resistance is vain ; that our struggles 
against unavoidable calamities give a greater 
depth and more imbittered poignancy to our 
wounds. To repine at events, that have taken 
place can never alter them or cause them to be 
disannulled. Unto this argument we all recur 
for comfort and support. Natural reason and 
enlightened philosophy induce a persuasion, 
that fortitude and patience will best subserve 
our interests and assuage our grief. The com- 
posure, that is produced in the mind from a 

conscious 



SENTIMENTS <5n RESIGNATION. 



conscious inability of making successful resist- 
ance, furnishes no colour of evidence, in favour 
of evangelical submission. The tyger,in bond- 
age, will howl and bite his chains, till he find 
his labours fruitless, then, nor till then, will he 
tamely lay down to rest. Thus man under 
the irresistible destinies of Heaven, may rage 
until raging become hopeless, and then be tired 
into visible submission, retaining within him 
ail the subtle ingredients of a carnal mind. 

Publick calamities are dismal and affecting 5, 
yet they are often productive of changes suited 
to the interest and promotion of some, and 
suddenly remove from their eyes the tears of 
sympathetick sorrow and excite the blush of 
joy. Jealousy perpetually broods on the heart| 
of the avaricious. There is always some sup- 
posed impediment, the removal of which, they 
earnestly desire. Contagious and fatal disease' 
frequently gives them an opportunity to extend 
the land marks of their possessions - 9 and by the 
exit of their fellow creatures to concentrate in 
themselves, a larger share of lucrative business* 
Feeble are the struggles of friendship against 
the power of interest and after a few fashionable 
sighs and lamentations, they survey with per- 
fect composure the ravages of death upon their 
fellow men. Civil convulsions and national 
revolutions promise bread to the wretched, 
emancipation to the prisoner, and aggrandize- 
ment to restless and aspiring ambition. Hence 
a considerable proportion of the community 
will bear with fortitude these awful calamities,. 

so 



m SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



so long as the}? can be sheltered from personal 
evil. The seats of promotion excite their 
hopes y the wide field of speculation is opened 
before them ; riches and honour demand their 
courage, and they are quietly resigned to these 
afflictive visitations. * When the heavens frown 
upon the earth and cause her fruits to fail, and 
the poor are heard to cry for bread ; are there 
none who patiently submit to this dreadful 
judgment, computing their enhanced gains up- 
on their stores and the enlarged revenue of 
their merchandize ? Being deeply depraved and 
liable to self-deception, it is not uncommon to 
^imagine ourselves resigned, when honour, pro- 
motion, and private emolument are the pro- 
curing causes of our quietude and patience* 
^Though this kind of resignation have consid- 
erable currency in the world, it is counterfeit 
^and false, and it evinces a dangerous and blind 
/Security to hazard upon it, for an hour, the 
welfare of the soul. It is almost impossible to 
be unaffected by the dissolution of tender and 
endeared relatives. A variety of causes, how- 
ever,, entirely foreign from Divine graces may 
have a tendency to allay the anguish of bereave- 
ment and restore to the mind a species of tran- 
quility. Violent agitations, both in the natural 
anc moral world, are generally of short continu- 
ance, and they are succeeded by quietude and 
silence. The fountain of extreme grief is soon 
exhausted, and the convulsive emotions of the 
heart waste their strength and subside. The 
feosom of the mourner is open to the reception 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



x>f rest from the diverting and composing influ* 
ence of surrounding objects. Among the myste* 
ries of life is the conduct of the husband, who re- 
turns from the solemn interment of his compan- 
ion, and wipes away his tears to select a second 
bride, and meditate upon her charms. With 
great facility he obtains a triumph over his re- 
cent affliction, treading again in bewildered vi- 
sion the enchanted paths of youth. Under 
these circumstances he readily concedes to the 
doctrine, that God is just, and that the judge 
of all the earth will do right. The legacy from 
a departed brother, and the enlargements of our 
possessions are themselves so pleasing to nature, 
that they may have an imperceptible but pow- 
erful influence in composing the mind, and in 
making us acknowledge that all things, under 
the Divine controul, shall work together for 
good. In cases of this kind natural causes 
produce a kind of quietude and submission., 
which to mortal eyes may look like resignation, 
but to the searching discernment of the Divin- 
ity they are mockery and delusion. 

How wretched are those, who are neglected 
and deserted in the hour of tribulation, having 
none to discern with tenderness their tears, or 
to hear with compassion their grievous com- 
plaints. Sweet is the voice of pity to the sons 
of sorrow. It diffuses a soothing influence over 
tUe distressed heart, and excites the softened 
energies of responsive feeling, under which the 
poignancy of grief is forgotten and lost. It is 
what ancient affliction earnestly solicited : 

" Have 



140 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



" Have pity on me, O ye, my friends, for the 
hand of the Lord hath touched me." The 
afflicted well know, with what sincerity they 
have welcomed to the chamber of distress their 
sympathizing friends. And with what undis- 
sembled gratitude^ they have received the alle- 
viating cordials of pity. Such are our social 
ties, and such the dependencies of life, that we 
not only seek relief from others, but actual- 
ly obtain support from the benevolence and 
pity of our fellow creatures. The alleviation 
of sorrow thus procured, is far from proving 
that we are the subjects of gospel reconciliation. 
For this must arise, not from the commiseration 
of man, and the tender services of mortal be- 
nevolence, but from the compassion and pity of 
uncreated eyes, and from the holy influences of 
Divine grace. * 

The necessary cares of life have a great in- 
fluence in wearing away the grievous impres- 
sions of calamity. Called from the cells of sor- 
row into the scenes of secuiar concernment, our 
tears are gradually diminished, and the distress 
of the heart is imperceptibly transfused into a 
variety of cares, where its imbittered influence 
is felt no more. The solicitude of the widow- 
ed parent for a surviving infant ; her anxious 
endeavours to defend it from the intrusion of 
pain an J the hand of death ; her toils to pro- 
cure its comfortable support ; the plans which 
she feelingly devises to adorn with science its 
tender years, and give it an honourable entrance 
into active life ; all these things alleviate the 

pressure 



SENTIMENTS RESIGNATION* Ul 

pressure of bereavement. Being sustained far 
beyond her expectations, she is liable to con* 
elude, that the spirit hath helped her infirmi- 
ties, that her composure is the result of grace, 
when it may be nothing more than the effect of 
diverting objects. It is hard for the mourner 
to enter the circles of gaiety and fashionable 
amusement. And it is hard to endure a melan- 
choly seclusion from the world. It is frequent* 
ly thought a sufficient apology for recurring to 
scenes of vanity, can we persuade ourselves, 
that we do it with reluctance and entirely to 
prevent our falling a sacrifice to dejection and 
gloom ? Amusement diverts the mind, re- 
moves the anguish of the heart ; and we return 
from the enchanting chambers of mirth and 
pleasure, divested of our melancholy burdens. 
In this way we forget our chastisements ; smile 
in our security, and rejoice that our darkness 
and sorrow were transient as the morning cloud. 
This, however, furnishes no colour of evidence, 
that our will is subdued and our hearts subject- 
ed, through the influences of grace, to the will 
of the holy Divinity. It is morally possible to 
submit with calmness to afflictive events, and 
yet be destitute of genuine resignation. Men 
may patiently endure distressing calamities, hav- 
ing no discernment of God nor reverence for 
his holy name ; and they may scarcely be able 
to ascertain, whether their trials are the result 
of chance or arise from the controul of a sover- 
eign God. When bereaved of an endearing 
object, it is the particular unhappiness of some 
N t© 



142 SENTIMENTS o* RESIGNATION. 



to lose their relish for every remaining blessing. 
They become the wretched votaries to a sullen 
melancholy. Their minds are soured by dis- 
appointment and the extinction of pleasing 
hopes ; and they look with disdain upon all 
sublunary enjoyments. In their distress they 
are heard to exclaim, our joy is darkened ! The 
comforts, of which we are so liable to be de- 
prived, are not worthy of our affection. We 
have no wish to prolong ouir painful pilgrimage 
on the earth. Thus they think themselves re- 
signed. The cup of affliction is pressed to the 
lips, and they are not desirous to have it re- 
moved. They are willing to languish away 
beneath the rod of chastisement. All this is 
entirely opposite to evangelical resignation. It 
is more like the delirium of a character drawn 
in romance, w r ho, being disappointed in the ob- 
ject of his affections, retreats from the world 
and becomes the voluntary victim to sorrow, 
hoping that unborn generations may be made 
to weep, as they read the inscription upon the 
urn, that contains his dust. 

That man is righteously doomed to suffer- 
ing, in consequence of his sins and numerous 
imperfections, is a truth universally acknowl- 
edged. Entertaining a belief that our suffer- 
ing may appease the wrath of an offended Di- 
vinity, we endure with unmurmuring fortitude 
the afflictions and calamities, into which we 
are providentially called. Even the christian, 
not always alive to a correct discernment of 
things, secretly cherishes an expectation, thajf 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 143 



his pains and distresses may in some measure 
answer the demands of Divine justice and ol> 
tain at least the favour of Heaven. On this* 
ground his hopes of a blissful immortality are 
brightened and rendered sustaining to his souL 
Oh ye followers of Jesus, have you never in 
your unguarded moments admitted the vain 
thought, that present sufferings will entitle you 
to future rewards ? When wearisome days and 
nights have been appointed unto you ; when 
you have experienced bereavement on every 
side ; and when you have seen the wicked ex- 
ulting in their prosperity, have you not been 
comforted from an idea, that you were actually 
atoning for your sin and purchasing a crown of 
eternal life ? Are christians liable to these de- 
ceiving thoughts r it is evident that the unre- 
generate embrace them ; that they are sustain- 
ed in their trouble by their influence, and erect 
upon them their hopes of glory. The follow- 
ing soliloquy of a deluded and unrenewed soul 
very probably contains the sentiments of a con- 
siderable part of mankind. 

Hard fortune has pursued me hitherto in 
life. The cruel hand of adversity has robbed 
me of every dear delight ; while others have 
basked in the radiance of prosperity, grief and 
sorrow have overwhelmed my soul. I am con- 
scious of guilt, but my sufferings will purge it 
away. The last pang of agony will soon arrive. 
The scene will change and joy and gladness will 
become my portion. I shall arise from tribu- 
lation in spotless purity* having suffered to full 

amount^ 



144 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



amount, for my sins and transgressions/* By 
this strange infatuation, they are induced to 
submit to calamity with great composure. 
They vainly attach to suffering the office of 
atonement, which is the exclusive prerogative of 
,a bleeding and dying Lord, Although their 
resignation administers a transient support and 
promises the inheritance of approaching felicity, 
it is counterfeit, impious and vain, and will be 
swept away as a refuge of lies. 

A quiet submission to death is, generally 
thought to be synonymous to a preparation for 
that momentous event. Surviving affection 
mourns, in hope over the graves of those, who 
calmly relinquished the tenute of mortal life, 
and retired without reluctance to the world of 
spirits. Dying language is solemn, and chari- 
ty forbids a suspicion, that it ever proceeds from 
wilful hypocracy and designed deception. A 
word, therefore, uttered under an immediate 
view of eternity, furnishes in kindred opinioa 
as much assurance, as though it were pronoun- 
ced by an angel. Stained with guilt, fearless 
of God and averse from his sovereign grace 
many are found, who are ultimately composed 
in the hour of dissolution, declaring with their 
latest breath, that they have no desire to live, 
that they are willing to depart. Hence it is 
not the greatest of mysteries, that the pencil of 
friendship is employed to paint, in glory, so ma- 
ny of the deceased. Indeed, there are but few 
whom she refuses to consign to a glorious im- 
mortality* Were we not liable to delusion, to 

deceive 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. Us 



deceive ourselves and others, both in life and in 
death, observations upon this point would be 
rendered unimportant. Since, however, the 
heart is deceitful ; since it is written ; " Not 
every one, that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall 
enter into the kingdom of heaven;" and since 
it is evident, that causes foreign from grace, 
may make us willing to die , we have no rea- 
son to conclude that all, who meet with calm- 
ness their great change, are the subjects of gen- 
uine resignation. And it may subserve the in- 
terests of the immortal soul, to expose the de- 
lusion, the flattering but counterfeit submission, 
by which it is imminently endangered. There 
are a variety of considerations, which have a 
tendency to render distressful the chamber of 
sickness. The pleasing projects of ambition 
pursued in health with untired avidity, are 
suspended and wrapped in doubt. The 
schemes for accumulating riches, are dissolved 
and leave the soul to be tortured by the fruithss 
cravings of avarice. The tender attachments, 
that are felt for kindred friends, are made to 
tremble in our bosoms through the fear of dis- 
solution ; and the delicious care of providing 
for their support, and aiding their progress in 
life, is ex'changad for a painful anxiety con- 
cerning their welfare in the world. A thou- 
sand joys and pleasures refuse to approach the 
gloomy retreats of the diseased ; we call for 
them in the watches of the night, but we call 
in vain. Circumstances like these clothe r;itli 
terrour, the scene of confinement. These ter- 
N 2 rours, 



U6 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

rours, however, by imperceptible degrees will 
vanish away. The fire of ambition is gradual- 
ly extinguished, when excluded from the ob- 
jects, by which it is excited. Under the lan- 
guors of sickness property is divested of its 
fascinating power, and reckoned among the 
trifles of time. Desire fails, and the objects of 
the world appear to be worthless. The pleas- 
ures, that commanded our eager pursuit and 
that were embraced with rapture, no longer 
charm our hearts, and we become willing to bid 
adieu to life. Remembering, with what ar- 
dent conflicts we first meet the attacks of dis- 
ease, and conscious of our present quietude and 
calmness, we readily include ourselves among 
the subjects of resignation. The change of 
feeling, produced by sickness and bereavement 
entirely from their natural influence, is often 
blindly mistaken for a change, that must be ef- 
fectuated by the spirit of Divine grace. That 
much of the submission, which is discovered 
in the subjects of sickness, is counterfeit and 
false, can hardly admit of a doubt. Attend- 
ing physicians ! how many have you seen,, wha 
were tranquil and calm under the expectation 
of death, made willing by long confinement 
to depart y and when raised to health again, re- 
turning to their former habits of vice, resum- 
ing, with encreased effrontry, the weapons of 
rebellion against their God. 

The lingering ravages of mortal disease on 
the body are generally accompanied with pain, 
or with a restlessness, which is irksome and 

hard 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. W 



hard to be endured. No object is too dear or 
too precious to be given, in order to obtain a 
deliverance from excruciating distress. Treas- 
ures, that are accumulated by the anxious la- 
bour of years, and preserved as the apple of 
the eye, crowns with all the trappings of hu- 
man grandeur would be freely resigned, could 
they purchase an escape from the pangs they 
are doomed to feel. When despair has dark- 
ened our prospects, and all the world is found to : 
be insufficient to afford us relief, and the affec- 
tionate commiseration of our friends can no* 
longer sustain our spirits, we are compelled to 
look for rest through the gates of death. We 
become willing to sleep in the dust. 

Were resignation the offspring of pain, we 
might find it very strikingly displayed on the 
dying couch of the debauched voluptuary, in 
the dismal haunts of female prostitution, and 
in the dark retreats of aged intemperance ; for 
there are the keenest pangs of dissolving na- 
ture. And here are the most frequent instan- 
ces of being forced by pain, to long for the 
slumbers of death. The choice of dissolution* 
in preference to life is in itself but a feeble and 
fallacious evidence of genuine resignation to- 
the will of the Divinity. And though it pro- 
cure the hopeful opinion of the world, it may 
be no more than the wild infatuation of a self- 
deluded soul. 

The relish of life is sometimes destroyed, by 
a continual series of adverse events. Nature- 
alone cannot sustain the repeated shocks of ca- 

lamityv 



i4g SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION 



lamity. If some are hardened by numerous 
chastisements, others languish beneath them 
like the sensitive plant, that is bruised by the 
foot of the traveller. Do we not become stu- 
pid and callous by the continuation of trou- 
ble ? We are liable to fall a sacrifice to exces- 
sive grief and unsanc tiffed sorrow. When cmf 
undetakings are rendered abortive, and our de- 
sires are appointed to expire, or remain ungrati- 
fied, our courage faoiters, our temporal hopes 
vanish away, and despair compels us to bow to 
its dark controuk Thus we are willing to leave 
a world of toil and tribulation, and to lay down 
where the weary are at rest. If the spirit have 
not born testimony with our spirits* that we 
are the children of God ; if we have not been 
sprinkled from an evil conscience by the blood 
of the lamb ; this submission to death is but 
a proof of the wretchedness in which we arer 
involved. 

The certainty of dissolution is among the 
first truths, that are impressed on the mind. 
Every moment confirms the solemn reality, 
that there is no possible way to elude the ap- 
proach of this relentless destroyer, no bribes, 
nor threatenings, nor tears can purchase his for- 
bearance or suspend the effects of his cruel 
toils- Overtaken by desperate disease* it is no 
rarity for men, from the necessity of their case 
to reason themselves into a kind of submission. 
It is appointed unto all men once to die. A 
few fleeting years will bring the haughty poten- 
tates of the earth and their disheartened slaves 

alike 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION, 



alike to the grave. Temporal existence is of 
short duration and the longer it is protracted* 
the longer we are in dying ; for life itself is but 
a mere lingering kind of death ; and do we 
survive ? it is like the mariner rescued from 
the quick sands to fear and tremble another 
hour, and then to fall upon the rocks to rise na 
more. From reasons, like these, they learn to 
acquiesce in the inevitable doom, and dec- 
orate their own tombs with the laurels of he- 
roick victory. Destitute of piety, their resig- 
nation is a mere phantom hovering over a be- 
wildered mind, or the vapour, that sports at 
midnight over the receptacle of dead men's 
bones. 

That resignation is counterfeit, which arises 
from a confidence in negative virtue, and an ex- 
emption from particular sins and daring crim- 
inality. In that tender age, when our parents 
more pious than prudent labour to defend our 
innocence, by erecting around us a hedge o£ 
bugbears and furies, we are led to believe, that 
some sins are connected witb inevitable ruin y 
and to avoid them is thought an infallible se- 
curity both to our temporal and eternal wel- 
fare. The consciousness, that we have never 
blasphemed the holy Divinity,, nor treated with 
disrespect his counsels and* government, is of-- 
ten a soothing anodyne to the soul in the hour 
of dissolution. Can we lift our hands from a 
dying bed, and declare them unspotted fron* 
rioting, from injustice, and other sins of similar 
turpitude B it begets in the natural mind a* 

pleasing, 



m SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

pleasing expectation, that we are sufficiently 
pure to reside in those mansions above,- where 
nothing shall enter, that worketh abomination 
or that maketh a lie. Our scrupulous endeav- 
ours to avoid certain transgressions are flatter- 
ing to reflection and excite within us the falla- 
cious hopes of Heaven, under which we view 
the approach of death with tranquility. It 
was undoubtedly a comforting thought to Ha- 
zael, that he was not so much of a tyger as 
ever to be guilty of barbarous cruelty $ but it 
was to his condemnation, that he then possess* 
ed a heart vile enough to murder by the se- 
verest tortures, that could possibly be employ- 
ed in spreading death through the female world. 
We are prone to feel a security in life, and a 
submission to death from an idea that we are 
free from the deeper stains of guilt, that our 
characters are only shaded with trifling faults,- 
and unavoidable infirmities. At the same time 
we may possess an unsanctified heart, and a 
soul, that retains not a single celestial feature. 

The natural man places great confidence in 
the efficacy of moral virtue. Being addicted 
to habits of prudence, and prompted by the 
combined influence of reason, pride and am- 
bition to- the practice of the benevolent and 
charitable virtues, he supposes his claims to fu- 
ture happiness unalterably secured; He is 
highly flattered with a retrospective view of 
life. From the specious field of meritorious 
works he gathers flowers, to strew them upon 
the bed of death. Self righteousness pours its 

transient 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION; -1st 

transient lustre upon him. Secure and compo- 
sed he resigns himself to his inevitable fate, 
gazing upon the star of his God, until it be- 
come a star of wormwood and shed its eternal 
bitterness upon his deathless conscience. An 
awful disappointment awaits us, if we depend, 
for salvation upon our own strength, and are 
tranquilized in view of death, by the enchant- 
ment of our own excellence. The balances 
are in the hand of God, and do we bring for- 
ward our own moral virtues, equal in number 
and lustre to those of the patriarch, when 
weighed, we are found wanting 1 The hand 
writing appears upon the wall of our refuge. 
Where is that hoiy Divinity, who worketh in 
us to will and to do his pleasure ? Where is 
the blood of atonement ? Was it sprinkled 
to the wind ; or poured out, merely to colour 
the cross and stain the ground, on which it fell ? 
Where is that righteousness, which alone can 
procure our own justification ? Ah ! to be 
soothed to rest by the smiles of our own vir- 
tue is counterfeit resignation. Better hopes 
may be entertained for such as are groaning 
in bondage through fear of death ; who trem- 
ble at the multitude and enormity of their sins ; 
who feel the most terrifick apprehensions of 
the judgment to come, than for those, who 
have worn the garments of outward purity j 
received the laurels of mortal praise ; and calm- 
ly bowed to the empire of dissolution ; yet 
denying and rejecting the only name, whereby 
we can be saved. 

From 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

From erroneous and partial views of the Di- 
vinity we gild with delusive hopes the even- 
ing of life. Mercy and benevolence are the 
pleasing attributes, to which we repair for sup- 
port in seasons of tribulation, and also when 
we are distressed with the compunctions, of 
guilt ; and so long as we are blind to Divine 
justice, we can easily tranquilize our minds un- 
der an expectation of relief and forgiveness. 
Surrounded by temptations, we are in danger of 
falling through the wiles of the adversary, and 
no artifice has procured him more victims than 
that of referring us to the pardoning mercy of 
Jehovah. The traitor, who devises and pre- 
meditates his nefarious schemes in the caverns 
of darkness, recoils from his own designs, goes 
forward and recoils again, until he hear it whis- 
pered y " The Almighty is long suffering, 
abundant in mercy and goodness. " Hereby 
the admonitions of conscience are consigned to 
silence, and the restraints, arising from the fear 
of punishment are dissolved. Enquire of the 
sons of poverty, by what persuasion they were 
first seduced, from the path of honesty. They 
will probably reply y we believe our necessities 
were known of God ; that his commiseration 
and benignity would be richly exercised towards 
our souls - 9 and that his mercy was always ready 
at our call. Thus we yielded ourselves a prey 
to seduction. If man, by reason of a deceitful 
heart and perverted understanding, be capable 
of considering the Divine attributes, in such a 
point of view as to encourage the indulgence of 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



155 



his evil propensities ; to remove the dread of 
future retribution ; and to compose his mind 
in the presence of death ; it is, by no means, 
the strongest proof, that he is possessed of that 
holiness without which none shall see the 
Lord. It is however an evidence, that he has 
no spiritual discernment of the living God, that 
he has never felt the power of conviction, nor 
the terrours of the law. It is an evidence, 
that his God, divested of justice, is a mere 
creature of imagination, residing in the fields 
of fiction. 

Some quietly meet their great change, while 
their quietude proceeds from no other cause 
than thoughlessness and stupidity. Man often 
languishes away, without the experience of any 
very forceful impressions, from the danger, by 
which he is threatened. Debilitated by the in- 
fluence of disease, eternity and its momentous 
realities are far beyond the sphere of his medi- 
tations. Anxiety, fear and hope all slumber 
beneath the languors of the flesh. He is una- 
ble to inform us, which he prefers, life or death, 
eternal sleep, or an endless retention of being. 
Thus, with peculiar felicity he acquiesces un- 
der the destiny, that awaits him, and becomes 
a fruitful subject for praise on the page of pe- 
riodical print. Resignation is widely different 
from thoughtlessness ; it is always accompanied 
with the wakeful energies of faith and love. It 
removes the sultry dulness and hazy aspect 
from the evening of life, and opens the soul 
to the dawnings of eternal day, 

O A false 



154 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

A false and delusive repentance is a cause of 
much counterfeit resignation. There are but 
few of the human race, who are entirely unac- 
quainted with the feelings of sorrow for sin. 
These feelings, however, do not always betoken 
a repentance, that is unto life. Under the bit- 
ter experience of the evil consequences of vice, 
such as bodily pain and the loss of physical 
strength, it is natural to bewail our follies, 
while our iniquity appears to be unaccompani- 
ed with personal harm, while it is concealed 
from the world under the fictitious visage ot 
virtue, we often forget the necessity of repen- 
tance ; but when we are providentially unmask- 
ed, and our iniquities appear to the world, with 
heart rending agony we mourn for our sins ; 
with tears of anguish we survive our reputa- 
tion, and tremble as we discern our names 
transferred to the records of disgrace and shame. 
A great part of the repentance, that we discov- 
er, does not proceed from a conviction, that 
we have offended a holy Divinity, but from 
the personal evils by which we are overtaken, 
and from a sense of the shame and misery, we 
have doomed ourselves to suffer. Natural dis- 
cernment does not discriminate between a false 
and genuine contrition of heart. Being con- 
scious on the bed of dissolution, that we deep- 
ly lament our sins, we imagine ourselves partak« 
ers of the promises, and entertained with the 
delicious d) earns of salvation, we calmly bid 
adieu to life and submit to the sceptre of 
4«ath. 

Counterfeit 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 155 

Counterfeit resignation is among the effects 
of a wild and speculative faith. Combining 
an extravagant zeal and inflamed enthusiasm, 
this kind of faith works wonders in the minds 
of its possessors. It gives them an undoubt. 
ing confidence in the Divine favour, and rep 
resents in cloudless vision the mansions above- 
I: elevates them above the world and enables, 
them to commune with spirits and angels, with 
the greatest familiarity. Although it refuses to 
work by love and purify the heart, it attends 
many, even in a dying hour, and throws a 
mimic light upon the falling curtain of time. 
Pitiful is our condition, when our resignation 
arises from a delirious faith ; and awful will be 
our disappointment, do we enter the valley of 
death, bearing the blazing tapers of enthusiasm, 
but unaccompanied with the reconciled coun* 
te nance of God ? 

From motives of temporal advantage the 
appearance of religion is sometimes artfully as- 
sumed. It is dangerous to sport with holy 
things. The hand of infidelity can never be 
placed with impunity upon the ark of God, 
under an ostensible endeavour to prevent its 
falling to the ground, or with a view to be 
ranked among the household of faith. It is 
hazardous to take the incense of the temple, 
in order to perfume the garments of human 
grandeur. Hypocracy may be commenced, 
with a design to deceive the world, till men, 
agreeably to their intentions and hopes, obtain 
the reality of religion, and they become imper- 
ceptibly 



156 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



ceptibly involved in self delusion. They be- 
lieve themselves possessed ot intrinsick excel- 
lence, feel enraptured with their high attain- 
ments, and rejoice under the imaginary influ- 
ences of Divine grace. Thus they are resign- 
ed to the events ol Providence, and unmoved 
with terrour, submit to the dominion of death. 
Were charity, this moment, to bend from the 
skies, would she frown upon the opinion, that 
there are many, who have assumed the dress 
and trappings of religion, have lost the con- 
sciousness of their own hypocracy, and passed 
in visible triumph to the world of spirits ! 

Delusions throng the walks of life ; they al- 
so hover over the perspectives of the dying. 
In some they destroy the apprehension of their 
impending fate ; or procure an indifference both 
to the trifles of time and the realities of eterni- 
ty. They wrap the consciences of some in, 
transient but fatal slumber. In others they 
excite a train of delicious hopes, and spread 
arouncrrheqi the enrapturing light of assur- 
ance. Thus it happens, that so many, who 
have never discovered a symptom of piety, an- 
nounce with expiring language their willing- 
ness to depart. The effects of this counterfeit 
resignation are not confined to its immediate 
subjects. We are liable to an indiscriminate 
belief, that submission and a preparation for 
death are of the same import. We have feel- 
ings of tenderness and are prone to security. 
Hence we readily conclude our friends and ac- 
quaintance in the family of the blessed, can 

we 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 157 



we but hear from their lips, the usual language 
of submission ? Though they have lived 
without God in the world, we are not alarmed 
at the thought of treading in their steps ; ho- 
ping, like them, to leave the world without re- 
luctance, which is thought to be an infallible 
token of Divine love, Nature allows her 
streams to sport, as they descend from the hills 
to linger in the valleys below, to move in a 
thousand directions, but mingles them, at last, 
with the waters of the deep ; and we blindly 
trust to nature and her laws to controul the 
aberrations of our wills ; to indulge them with 
a long passage through the fields of sensual de- 
light, and bring them, at last, to be swallowed 
up in the will of God. Happy for us, do we 
walk humbly, with our God ; know in whom 
we have believed ; lean on the bosom of the 
Redeemer ; and exchange our mortal breath 
for eternal life, 



CHAPTER, 



158 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE INFLUENCE OF RESIGNATION UPON THE 
PASSIONS, 



A GREAT part of the movements, 
in the moral world arise from the bu^y impulse 
of lust and passion. To avenge the aspersed 
glory of a crown, to gratify the pride of do- 
minion, to extend the land marks of avaricious 
possession, armies are summoned forth to en- 
dure the fatigues and encounter the dangers of 
war. Envy is daily assailing its thousands, 
while revenge is hurrying as many into the 
bloody labours of retaliation. Imperious avar- 
ice impels its votaries to sleepless toil. They 
pass from shore to shore ; they steal and sell 
for gain their fellow mortals ; and spare no 
pains to effectuate their dark designs and 
overbearing violence. How numerous are the 
transactions that are prompted and controuled 
by lust and passion ? What beaten paths are 
made to the haunts of wretchedness, to the 
halls of nightly revel, and to the scenes of bru- 
tal intemperance ? How much of the language 
of the lips and the exercises of the heart, pro- 
ceed entirely from lust and licentious desire ? 
Could all the movements, that are made in 
obedience to a spirit of domination -> could all 
the moral objections, that are produced by 

jealousy 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. m 

jealousy and pride ; could all the labours of 
malice and envy ; could the numberless steps, 
which are taken in pursuit of sensual pleasure ; 
could all the ebullitions of the lustful heart ; 
could all these be suspended, but a small por- 
tion of human movements and moral exercise 
would be found to result from sober inclination 
and enlightened reason. Alas ! and a still 
smaller portion from the exalted motives of 
piety and the Divine glory. As the gentle un- 
dulations of a crystal lake to the restless agita- 
tion of a troubled sea, so is the agency, which 
arises from the dictates of expedience and wis- 
dom, to the wide and noisy commotions of lust 
and passion. 

The bosom of man is evidently the seat and 
residence of evil and inflamable desires. They 
are revealed in the barbarous life of the savage, 
and appear in multiplied forms among the sons 
of civilization. They are unsuppressed by the 
refinements of society and the most exalted at- 
tainments of science. Reason is too feeble to 
resist their imperious sway, or to maintain, at 
all times, an ascendency over them. Human 
power, with all the devices of natural wisdom, 
is insufficient to effect their radical extirpation. 
Yet a pious resignation, as observed in a pre- 
vious chapter, both requires and procures the 
removal of unhallowed lust from the heart. 
Do we humbly kneel at the feet of Jesus ? our 
evil passions retreat and vanish, like the loath- 
some distemper of Naaman, when he bowed to 
wash in the waters of Israel. There are pas- 
sions 



160 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



sions inseparable from our temporal being, 
which may by perversion become productive 
of the most deleterious effects ; but under the 
controui of religion they may highly subserve 
the nobler energies of the soul, and brighten 
the lustre of a pious life. 

The influence of resignation upon these 
shall be considered. 

The passion of anger is universal and liable 
to be inflamed by an infinite variety of moral 
incentives and physical provocations. Unre- 
strained byreligious principles and the habits of 
self command, it leads to scenes of mischief ; 
stifles the feelings of tranquil joy ; gives an un- 
happy bias to all the powers of the mind y and 
multiplies the labours of repentance. Left to 
the operations of nature, this passion may be- 
come a fury in the human breast, reigning 
in violence over the subject soul. Are we 
placed in those climes, where the elements are 
frequently engaged in angry conflict, where 
the thunders reveal their vengeance ? Are we to 
day shivering under the frowns of intolerable 
cold, and to-morrow fainting under a burning 
sun ? we naturally partake of the awful scenery, 
and our bosoms become a miniature of the an- 
gry appearances, by which wfc are surrounded. 
Wounded by the impending thorn ; assailed by 
evils which lurk on our way ; experiencing the 
insufficiency of our strength to surmount aris- 
ing difficulty, our anger awakes and our tempers 
are roiled. It is well known, that by smaller 
incidents than these the sun has often gone 

down 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 151 

down upon our wrath, and we have beheld, for 
days, the dearest objects with aversion, venting 
our rankling passions on our most endeared 
friends. Sudden bereavements and disappoint- 
ments that are brought about by the hands 
of men, have a natural tendency to excite our 
angiy passions. Our feelings are embroiled by 
the unexpected reception of evil tidings, and 
by discovering the designs of envy and malice 
upon our character and possessions. When 
Job was informed of the murderous toils of 
the Sabines upon his tender offspring, nature 
alone would not have prevented his polluting 
with an oath of revenge the sighing breath, in 
which he submissively replied : " The Lord 
gave, and the Lord hath taken away, and bless- 
ed be the name of the Lord*" Under the in- 
fluences of resignation the passion of anger 
is unmingled with malice and revengeful fire, 
While the disciples were treated with indigni- 
ty and scorn by the unbelieving city, nature 
cried for revenge. They appealed to the will of 
Jesus, they were rebuked, their anger was dis- 
armed of its threatening^ and changed into the 
feelings of righteous indignation. Under un- 
avoidable provocations do we spread our com- 
plaints before God ? do we bow in submission 
at his foot stool ? do we submit our anger to the 
directions of his holy will ? it becomes harm- 
less to ourselves and others, and a useful spring 
to the energies of the soul It becomes sub- 
sidiary to the defence and the love of character. 
For when do we appreciate the glory of a good 

name 



162 SENTIMENTS ow RESIGN ATION. 



name so much, as when our indignant feelings 
are awakened by our malicious and envious 
associates ? This passion, in the heart of re- 
conciliation, excites our vigiience in the cause 
of virtue. It warms us with uafamting zeal 
in the service of our God ; like the remnant of 
conquered Israel we bear our armour and are 
intensely engaged day and night in repairing 
the broken walls of the fair capital. We la- 
bour with animation m the vineyard of the 
Lord, to rescue the weeping vine and the droop- 
ing plant from the ravages of sin. We look 
with indignation upon the devices of the wick- 
ed, and turn with abhorrence from the works 
of darkness. 

In destining man to a state of probation and 
making him a subject of Divine government, 
it behoved the Creator to plant in his breast 
the passion of fear. Previous to the hour of 
apostate ruin, it was probably the office of this 
passion to enforce the law of self preservation ; 
to keep the souljn a humble attitude ; and to 
spread before it the awful denunciations of 
judgment against rebellion. But since it has 
been mingled with guilt, it has undergone a 
mysterious change, and is liable to the most 
wretched perversions. It now corrodes the 
heart with painful convictions, or leaves us to 
the dangerous effects of a blind security. It is 
now awakened by the revengeful hornet, and 
by the bloody poinard ; but slumbers beneath 
the threatenings of Jehovah. I t is tremulously 
alive to the pangs of disease and the numerous 

attacks 



SENTIMENTS m RESIGNATION. 163 

attacks of temporal evil, but is unaiarmed by 
the apprehension of appearing at the bar of ret- 
ribution and receiving an irrevocable sentence, 
according to the deeds of the body. Without 
this passion philosophy is madness, civil gov- 
ernment is confusion, and society a wide scene 
of licentiousness. Nor less shocking are its 
perverted operations. For here we tremble, 
when there is no just cause of alarm, we view 
with timidity the visage and the doings of 
man, and are ensnared. We discover a thou- 
sand frightful forms in the path of duty and 
retreat. We shrink from the thoughts of 
death, we are tortured by trifles, and disheart- 
ened by the monstrous images of a wild imag- 
ination. Resignation has a very evident effect 
upon all our fears. It removes us from those, 
that arise from inconsiderable and visionary 
causes. It brings us nearer to Heaven, and in- 
to that state of Divine composure, where we 
are inspired with a pious boldness, and enabled 
to withstand the invectives of the wicked with 
all the slander and persecution of the world. 
Why should we be dismayed in pursuing the 
path, which we know is prescribed by infinite 
wisdom ? Why should ive be frightened from 
the bosom of Jesus by man, who can destroy 
the body, but can do no more ? Those objects 
of nature, by which cur fears are addressed, re- 
minding us of that day, when her fair fabricfc 
shall be dissolved, awaken within us those feel- 
ings, which partake of the devotional and sub- 
lime. It is then, that we feel and enjoy those 

prayeiful 



354 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



prayerful fervours, that are richly infused with 
love and the fear of God. In our deviations 
we hear the voice of threatening, not so much 
to torment, as to afford us the delight of re- 
turning with meekness to the path of duty. 
Under the exercises of a holy submission we 
are delivered from a slavish fear of punishment. 
The terrours of conviction are changed into 
contrition of heart, which permits us to hope 
and love, while we tremble at God's word. We 
are afraid of offending him, and coming short 
of rest through unbelief. A submissive and 
faithful adherence to the Divine will affords an 
infallible security to feeble mortals, against the 
disheartening and wasting terrours by which 
they are pursued. Even the woodbine, that en- 
twines the oak, has nothing to fear from the 
trampling foot of the destroyer : it mocks the 
movements of the dust below, and remains un- 
hurt by the storm. How much more shall God 
secure those precious souls, who piously adhere 
to his will, and unto whom the Redeemer hath 
said, " fear not, little flock, it is your father's 
good pleasure to give you the kingdom." 

The passion of love is happily controuled by 
the influences of resignation. This passion is 
sometimes revealed in the strong desires and as- 
pirations after greatness. Left to ourselves, we 
are liable to be grossly mistaken with regard to 
true magnanimity. We are naturally inclined 
to believe, that itconsisteth in a series of heroick 
deeds and mortal exploits, in the energies of 
inventive genius^ in the possession and display 

of 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 165 



of great talents, in outbraving the terrours of 
danger and the attacks of pain. These are 
deeds and exercises, that travel in tradition and 
in the page of history from age to age. Re- 
signation teaches us to leave them to their own 
destiny to be sought and admired by the off- 
spring of Boanerges ; and opens before us a 
field of greatness, that is equally accessible to 
the sons and daughters of men. The genuine 
splendours of greatness rested upon Hannah, 
when she lent the light of her eyes and the joy 
of her heart to the Lord forever. And the 
greatness of the deed was consecrated by the 
sublime magnanimity, in which she uttered the 
praise of her God. More glory was exhibited 
by the finger of faith, that touched but the 
hem of the Redeemer's garment, than the hand 
of conquest and the arm of Pharasaick achieve- 
ment could boast. Do we search the annals of 
heathen mythology, which of the sisters of 
Jove has ever been famed for a deed equal in 
sublimity and greatness to the deed of Mary, 
when she anointed the Redeemer's feet, and 
wiped them with the locks of her head ? Nel- 
son was great in the empire of the seas but 
the stars of his glory were eclipsed by the last 
effort of magnanimity - y when dying he said, 
God's will be done ! By resigning ourselves to 
the will of God, we admire and pursue that 
greatness, which is agreeable to his holy pleas- 
ure. How diminutive is the boasted son of hu- 
man magnificence compared with the humble 
and resigned pilgrim, who bears the restored 
P image 



166 SENTIMENTS ex RESIGNATION, 



image of his Creator, and whose sanctified bo- 
dy is the temple of the living God ! Those 
acts of duty, which are performed under the 
threats of temporal danger, and to the resist- 
ance of great temptations, excite our admira- 
tion and kindle in our bosoms a hallowed am- 
bition. Can genius sufficiently eulogize the 
sublime grandeur, that characterizes the efforts 
of chastity, when she repels with indignant 
frowns the guileful arts of seduction. It is 
greatness to perform in secret a benevolent 
deed, to suraount our prejudices and act the 
true Samaritan. It is greatness to overcome 
our vices and evil habits ; to move undaunted 
in the path of rectitude ; to obey the will of 
our heavenly father ; to bear the armour of 
light ; to be visited by celestial spirits ; to ex- 
pire with songs of victory in the arms of Je- 
sus ; and be conveyed by angels into the eternal 
residence of the blessed. Ye mighty men of 
the earth, who delight in empire ; ye men of 
genius, who explore with daring eyes the dark- 
est recesses of nature ; ye iron nerved heroes* 
who outbrave the ills of life, who tread with 
unblushing boldness the ground of hazard ; 
it is yours to dazzle the eyes of the world, with 
the false glare of greatness ; it will also be 
yours to see your glory and greatness vanish 
#way, while the trembling hope of meekness 
shall be succeeded by a holy magnanimity, and 
be crowned with triumphs and everlasting joy. 

Honour is among the objects, that we pur- 
sue with eager avidity and embrace in all the 

fervours 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION, lflST 

fervours of extravagant attachment. The love 
of honorary distinctions may be traced from 
the remotest games of childhood. When we 
excelled our fellows in arriving first at the goal, 
by venturing the farthest in feats of hazard ; 
and by dancing around the cheerful ring with 
the lightest airs and sweetest grace ; then have 
we crowned our little brows with garlands of 
distinction. Nor less alive is the love of hon- 
our, in the walks of academick life, and in all 
the romantick chivalry of youth. How have 
our bosoms beat in quest of seientifick laurels, 
and in obtaining the plaudits of the gay and 
genteel world ! In riper years we are enchant- 
ed with the glare of titles and the trappings of 
secular renown. In the moment, that we are re* 
signed to the Divine will, our love of honour 
is transferred from transient objects to those, 
that are unfading and eternal ! Our claims to 
honour, upon hereditary principles, are renoun- 
ced as delusive and vain. We refuse to en- 
trust the welfare of our souls to the fame of a 
noble ancestry. For this, without personal 
worth, can but scarcely support the mimick 
lustre of our name. Resignation is far from 
destroying the desire of distinction, which h 
an essential spring to the energies of the souf. 
When conforming ourselves to the dictates of 
infinite wisdom, we become enamoured with 
the emblems of christian excellence, we labour 
with a holy zeal, to obtain the robes of righteous- 
ness, which are mercifully prepared for those, 
that will bow to the sceptre of the Redeemer. 

Can 



168 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION, 



Can we become his true disciples, and be hon- 
oured with the visits of his grace ? We obtain 
a distinction, which all the splendours of science 
could never create, and which all the powers of 
darkness cannot destroy. 

The feelings of reconciliation maintain a ve- 
ry evident influence over our love of the world. 
The christian with peculiar delight resigns 
himself, his possession, and ail his concernments 
to the righteous disposals of the Divine will. 
Called into being and appointed to inherit the 
earth, he highly appreciates the objects, that 
surround him, as they answer the exigences of 
life, awaken the powers of perception and the 
energies of thought j and especially, as they are 
50 many mirrours > in which he discerns some- 
thing of the revealed attributes of his God. 
The gifts of nature and the bounties of Provi- 
dence excite at once the mingled sentiments of 
gratitude of dependence, and of human frailty, 
Under these softened impressions he is inclined 
to lean upon the arm of his benefactor, where 
he recognizes the riches of that love, which 
gives, and the justice of that holy hand, that 
taketh away. These exercises of submission 
do not destroy his attachment to the world, but 
purge it from every idolatrous ingredient, and 
consecrate it to devotional and salutary purpos- 
es. They are tenderly susceptible of subhme 
entertainment from the order, the beaut*', and 
grandeur, that characterize the works of crea- 
tion. Is he entrusted with earthly treasures ? 
He is conscious of great responsibility and la- 
bours 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



169 



hours, with unahating assiduity to be reckoned 
a faithful steward. Though he be delighted 
with his riches ; it is not on account of the 
transient splendour they create * 3 but because 
he is honoured with the means of protracting 
the breath of the deserted infant ; removing 
the sigh from the breast of the orphan ; and of 
alleviating the disheartening burdens of the 
poor ; administering to the necessity of the 
saints ; and hereby increasing the incense of 
thanksgiving and praise, that is devoutly offer- 
ed to God. Are we destirute of resignation ? 
our love of the world becomes a consuming 
fire* It bewilders our thoughts, driving us 
from one vanity to another, deluding us into a 
belief, that our glittering treasures contain the 
chiefest good. Thus we nsiake a God of dust, 
and a heaven of scenes, that fade away. 

Sexual attachments often originate in mys- 
tery, and are cherished by similarity and con- 
trast, by the vicissitudes of hope and doubt, 
quietude and concern, and also by reciprocal 
and affectionate attentions. This species of 
love depends very much upon the influence of 
resignation for its purest fervours and the con- 
stancy of its operations. The pious youth se- 
lects from the world a fair object, who appears 
in enchanted vision to be possessed of more 
than mortal charms. Trials and conflicts are 
incident to the scenes of love. When provi- 
dential events seem to darken his prospects of 
possessing the desire of his eyes, resignation 
prevents his affection from being transformed 
P i into 



170 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

into desperate resolution, or degenerating into 
the feelings of melancholy and wretchedness. 
He resigns himself and his dearer enchantress 
to the will of Heaven. His affection is still 
alive, and richly blended with the sublime and 
ennobling sentiments of immortality, he trav- 
els on the wings of faith to those celestial abode?, 
where congenial souls shall meet to love and 
be loved forever. Who can describe the feel- 
ings of his heart, when he receives for the last 
time, as he fears, the hand of his seraphick 
charmer, and listens to the tremulous accents, 
that are uttered in all the sanctity of reconcilia- 
tion. u It is the will of God ; we must sub- 
mit ; forget me not in your prayers at the 
throne of grace ; plead that the light of the 
Divine countenance may illuminate my path 
to the grave." He responds with tears alone. 
His affection partakes of something, which 
cannot be named nor described. Ministering 
spirits, that are sent with errands to different 
parts of the earth, may meet again in the skies, 
and ascend together to the presence of their 
God. In like manner, congenial souls when 
called by Providence to move in separate walks, 
will soon arrive in rapture to the point of im- 
mortal union. Does a propitious Providence 
restore the delightful aspect of his concerns, 
and enable h~m to possess the object of his at- 
tachment ? angels might bend with pleasure 
from Heaven, to inspect the renewed interview, 
when it shall be known, that they were remem- 
bered of each other in constant and fervent 

prayer 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 171 

prayer, in the wakeful vigils of the night, in 
solitude and in the circles of society,, in the 
holy exercises of resignation, and in their ac- 
knowledgment of the rectitude of Heaven. 
Love, like this, is both immortal and pure. 
It is kindled and fed with live coals from off the 
altar of reconciliation. The state and conduct 
of an irreligious and unresigned youth are of a 
different complexion. His love is liable to 
painful violence and to all the evils of bewilder- 
ing romance. Perplexed, by the intervention 
cf adverse events, he challenges the destinies of 
Heaven, and opens the avenues through which 
the poison of jealousy reaches and corrodes the 
heart. If gratified in the attainment of his ob- 
ject, his love becomes alternately the fawnings 
of grovelling affection, and the frowns of ma- 
lignant coldness. The disasters, that overtake 
him abroad ; the trials that are inseparable from 
domestick life, give sourness to his temper, and 
excite those fumes of passion,, which stifle and 
murder every smile of joy in the chambers of 
love. On the other hand the affection of the 
resigned is softened beneath the mellowing 
hand of affliction, and partakes of something 
truly celestial, as it advances in the path of tri- 
al. If there be a hallowed and sinless hour in 
mortal life, it is when we unite with the fair 
companion of our days, in pleading with sub- 
mission for the life of a languishing infant ; 
when, in the troubles of life we mingle our 
tears with those of sympalhetick tenderness and 
praise our God for the sustaining gift, for his 

last. 



m SENTIMENTS on RBSIGNATIOK 



last, his fairest work. Pleasures, like these, are 
unknown to all but to the meek and reconciled 
sons and daughters of men. What joy is there 
in prayerless love or pleasure, that may not be 
imbittered by a spirit of rebellion ? what hope 
that may not be extinguished ; and what pas- 
sion, that may not become a scorpion within 
our breast ? 

From the miseries incident to life, and frorrr 
a variety of providential events we necessarily 
form an early acquaintance with grief. The 
morning of existence is frequently wrapped in 
darkness aqid our most promising prospects 
are dissolved by the hand of adversity. There 
are causes within ourselves and in the things 
around us, that daily excite the bewildering 
sensations of the heart. It is the natural ten- 
dency of this passion to give a discolouring to 
all our views, to depress our spirits, and con- 
sign to lisiiessness the nobler powers of the 
soul. Uncontrouled by religion, it distils a 
poison upon every enjoyment, and gradually 
consumes the heart in which it resides. Resig- 
nation takes away the deleterious effects of grief 
and gives it an ameliorating and salutary influ- 
ence. It suffuses our sorrow with a tender me- 
lancholy, and associates with it the softening 
pleasures of hope. When we are grieved at 
the removal of endeared objects, reconciliation 
to the will of God renders our lamentations 
beneficial to the interest and edification of our 
souls, and leads us to these devotional charms, 
in comparison with which the brightest joys of 

sense 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 173 

sense are marked with a deadly paleness. In 
grieving at the dying nature of temporal things 
and at the amazing rapidity, with which wc 
are hurried from the cradle to the grave, the 
unresigned must also wring the hands of agony 
over the hecatomb of murdered hours, while 
resigned grief, mourning the departure of fleet- 
ing years, discerns the blissful features of re- 
deemed time blended with the vivid colourings 
of immortality. Resignation has an evident 
effect upon the grief, that arises from the 
wrongs we suffer in our intercourse with man- 
kind. When the returns of our benevolence 
consist of ingratitude and the chilling frowns of 
scorn $ when our outward characters are mads- 
to bleed by the arrows of malice and envy; with 
what hallowed feelings has our grief been ming- 
led in flying to the refuge of the saints ? We 
know, better than we can describe, the swelling 
impressions in the heart of the child, when 
abused by ruffian hands, it repairs to the sweet 
asylum of parental love and commiseration. 
The grief, that is felt for sin, is tormenting to 
the irreconciled, but in the moment of submis- 
sion its anguish is removed, and he feels the 
hopeful and quickening exercises of contrition. 
Could Bolingbroke have denied his Redeemer ? 
could Spinoza have wared against the existence 
of spirit ? had they visited, but once, the cell of 
sorrow and beheld the daughter of resigned 
grief, lifting her eyes in faith and praise to the.; 
great inhabitants of eternity- How much of 
Heaven and the Divinity is revealed through 
the translucent tear of grieved meekness ! 

Irreligious 



*T4 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

Irreligious anxiety destroys the felicities 
life, and also procures a great portion of the 
wretchedness, that marks our transient davs. 
it embitters the toils of ambition and gives a 
painful dissatisfaction both to the pursuits and 
the possession of wealth. It disconcerts the 
powers of the mind, and drives from the heart 
every delightful sensation. Resignation has a 
peculiar effect upon our anxiety. Removing 
its bitterness and delirium, it transforms it into 
a pious solicitude for ourselves' and others, and 
into a quickening and hoiy concern relative to 
the events of futurity and the scenes which arc 
yet to come. This submissive solicitude har- 
monizes with the purest enjoyment and is like- 
wise an efficacious incentive to the punctilious 
discharge of duty,, and to the attainment of 
christian excellence. Far from painful are those 
conscious feelings, that reside in the bosom of 
the parent and prompt him to guard with vigi- 
lence,his rising offspring ; to protect them from 
the pollution of vice ; to aid the growth of 
opening genius and feed them with the knowl- 
edge of the Redeemer. The serious concern, 
into which our anxiety is converted, becomes a 
quickening principle, in providing for our pre- 
sent and future welfare. It swallows up like 
the rod of Moses the encumbering cares of 
the world and strengthens our attention to the 
hopeful works of obedience. Whenever we 
have reason to apprehend the approach of ad- 
verse events, it enforces the necessity of self-ex- 
amination, excites our watchfulness and awa- 
kens 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. I5MP 



kens a desire to be prepared to meet the allot- 
ments of Divine Providence. The lover of 
his country beholds with anxiety the prevalence 
of vice, the wild commotions of publick opin- 
ion ; he discerns with distress the horrours, that 
descend like stars of wormwood upon princi- 
palities and powers and spiritual wickedness in 
high places ; he watches with pain, the symp- 
toms that have generally preceeded the depar- 
ture of glory and joy. His anxious feelings arc 
ameliorated by the exercises of reconciliation 
and he entrusts with a pleasurable confidence, 
the management of nations to the hands of his 
God. The endeavours of philosophy to sup- 
press the anguish of our anxiety are not always 
attended with safety. They frequently lead to 
a cold indifference both concerning the things 
of time and eternity. They resemble the pre- 
scriptions of quackery, which may remove a 
malady by destroying alike the seeds of dis- 
ease and the springs of life. Whereas resigna- 
tion extracts the bitterness from our anxious 
feelings, and leaves a kind of solicitude, which 
is necessary to our agency and richly subserves 
the cause of virtue and the edification of our 
souls in Christ. 

No passion is more easily excited, more 
constant and mysterious in its operation, or 
more effectually poisons the charities of life than 
jealousy. Yet no passion is more visibly affect- 
ed by the influences of resignation. Jealousy 
has always been considered a prominent and 
commanding feature in human agency. Its 

Urrifick 



176 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

terrifick visage has been portrayed on the can- 
vass ; its reiterated toils displayed on the tragick 
stage ; and its awful empire has often constitu- 
ted the subject of philosophick dissertation. 
Deeming the earth too narrow for the dominion 
of this passion, the poets have given it a pos- 
session in the skies, where it incorporates with 
the attributes, and darkens the residence of 
their Gods. Most of the means, that are fer- 
vently recommended in surmounting our tor- 
menting jealousy, have been found utterly in- 
competent to that desireable end. The ener- 
gies of natural reason frequently confirm sus- 
picion, and administer fuel to the purple flames 
of jealousy. Are we presented with the perni- 
cious consequences of this infuriated passion ? 
do we survey its effects, in corrupting the en- 
dearing fervours of domestick love, in dissolving 
the charm of society, and swelling the amount 
of human wretchedness ? reason will be insuffi- 
cient to defend our bosom from corroding sus- 
picion or to purge our jealous feelings from 
criminality and torture. A holy resignation to 
the will of Heaven renders the jealousy of the 
heart a subject of controul. He, who trembles 
under an apprehension, that the delight of his 
eyes may be tranferred to the embraces of some 
successful rival, may call in vain upon his firm- 
ness and fortitude ; he may recur to scenes of 
hilarity and amusement ; but jealousy will pur- 
sue him ; it wall haunt him in the circles of the 
day, and in the solitary hours of the night- 
Does he, however, humbly bow r to the will of 

Heaven 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



177 



Heaven, and commit his tender concerns to the 
unerring direction of infinite wisdom ? his an- 
guish is instantly abated ; his purposes are res- 
cued from malice and revenge ; and tranquility 
and joy revisit his heart. The painful jealou- 
sies which are felt, concerning the barbarous de- 
signs of others upon happiness, character and 
property ; the strong and anxious suspicion, 
that the bonds of connubial affection are doom- 
ed to separation ; these are rendered sinless and 
tolerable, through the influence of a pious sub- 
mission to the Divine will, and by the invalua- 
ble consciousness of adhereing to the path of 
piety and duty. Jealousy, when purified and 
transformed at the altar of reconciliation, be- 
comes important to the support of personal 
dignity and excellence of character. It inclines 
us to guard, with unwearied vigilance, the in- 
heritance of our national, civil and religious 
privileges. When we incautiously mingle with 
the world and receive with fearless avidity eve- 
ry token of benevolence, we are exposed to vul- 
gar ridicule, and often find ourselves in great 
surprise, bleeding under the attacks of malig- 
nant aspersion. On the other hand, a righ- 
teous and becoming suspicion holds a hallowed 
centinel over our lips and hearts, administering 
a perpetual admonition, that the choice of 
friends be made, with serious and searching de- 
liberation ; that we faithfully discriminate the 
objects that invite our embrace. Thus we re- 
treat, through paths of honour, from the snares 
of temptation and the allurements and decep- 

tions 



178 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



tions, by which we are endangered. Nothing 
more infallibly portends the demolition of king- 
doms, than an unsuspecting credulity. It con- 
ducts alike to the grave, the strength, the glory 
and the happiness of nations,. A righteous 
jealousy is requisite to national prosperity. It 
brightens and enlarges the sphere of .political, 
discernment ; and tramples in the dust, the 
disguise under which domination and tyranny- 
delight to travel abroad. The office of this 
holy jealousy is eminently useful, in its exercises 
over our heart and life. We are naturally prone 
to evil. Remaining corruptions lurk in the bo- 
soms of the renewed. Vain thoughts and evil 
imaginations crowd upon us in rapid succession. 
Being, however, resigned to the will and gov- 
ernment of Heaven, our jeak usy awakes and 
surveys the style of elapsed life. It distin- 
guishes between false and gracious affection ; 
between fictitious and evangelical evidences of 
belonging to the household of iaith, It pre- 
vents an idle satisfaction concerning present at- 
tainments, and makes us aspire after nobler ac- 
cessions of knowledge, and after the measure 
of perfect men in Jesus Christ. Thus the 
worst of passions by nature is changed, by the 
influence of grace and resignation, into a pas- 
sion of indispensable importance in guarding 
our lives from sin, and in prompting us to obey 
the will of that immaculate being, who hath 
styled himself a jealous God. 

Our tranquility is liable to be molested by a 
variety of passions, emotions and contending 

propensities 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 17 9 

propensities. Natural exertions may apparent- 
ly suppress them, but they will still rankle iu 
concealment, and rise again with enhanced fury, 
at the call of incentive objects. One senti- 
ment of pious submission, one devout aod 
conciliated thought of the Divine Sovereignty, 
will tranquilize the mind and suffuse the heart 
with celestial joy. By a frequent recurrence to 
the shrine of reconciliation, the labours of self- 
command are facilitated ; our unhallowed pas- 
sions diminish, both in number and strength ; 
and the soul is fitted for improvement and edi- 
fication. Thus will our purified passions as- 
sume a noble office -> accelerate our progress to 
christian excellence, and feed-within us, the un- 
ceasing aspiration after that inheritance, which 
is the incorruptible portion of the resigned. 



CHAPTER 



180 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE INFLUENCE OF RESIGNATION ON D ISPO- 
SITION AND CHARACTER. 



A N amiable disposition is justly reck- 
oned among the richest gifts of nature. The 
parent searches, with timorous avidity, for the 
indication of genius, in his rising offspring ; and 
is no less engaged in discovering from their ear- 
liest actions, a pacifick temper, a prevalent in- 
clination to honourable deportment and benev- 
olence. The endowment of a good disposi- 
tion is desirable and advantageous. It shines 
through the rugged features of personal deform- 
ity ; it softens the looks of barbarity ; and rich- 
ly amends for the rudeness, defects, and forbid- 
ding singularities, which characterize a conisder- 
ble portion of mankind. It supplies the want 
of brilliant talents, and is influential in raising 
and supporting those refined attachments, that 
charm wherever they are felt, and leave the 
heart in pangs, whenever they are dissolved* 
How many irregularities and licentious extrav- 
agances of youth retire to oblivion, merely be- 
cause reputation has announced them well dis- 
posed and inoffensive, in the main current of 
agency and design ! If the disposition be vile 
and mischievous, it incurs a baleful odium, 
which darkens and overwhelms the boasted glare 
of genius and the brightest glory of philosc- 

phick 



SENTIMENTS ox RESIGNATION. 131 

phick invention. The evil designs cf the heart 
pollute the fame of greatness, and crowd, with- 
out distinction, the most astonishing labours 
of body and mind, among the countless monu- 
ments of human depravity. What picture can 
be more hideous than that; which is composed 
of natural and moral deformity, and coloured 
with the deepest dies" of malignity ? We re- 
coil from it, as from a fury ! Sensible of the 
infelicity of a thoroughly biassed mind, relying 
upon the aids and efficiences of education, in 
forming an amiable disposition,, the prudent 
part of the world have unsparingly appropriat- 
ed their exertions to this benevolent and im- 
portant purpose. Parental care is tremulously 
concerned to protect the charm of infancy, and 
to cherish, in her offspring, virtuous propensi- 
ties and endearing habits. She wisely conceals 
from their young and wakeful inspection, the 
scenes of domestick altercation. She directs 
their taste to objects, whose properties leave on 
the mind the most melioiating impressions. 
She kindly inducts them into nurseries of sci- 
ence, and into the chambers of civil accomplish- 
ment. She discerns with rapture the fair germs 
of loveliness, blushing into life and glory. Alas ! 
how often are prospects blasted ! how often is 
the pleasing fruit of her toils dissolved, like a 
transient vision ; and she doomed to the pain 
of beholding the promising disposition of her 
offspring converted by the frowns of trial and 
disappointment, into a sullen morosity and evil 
inclinations, arising from their latent condition, 
portending inevitable ruin ! A disposition 



182 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



A disposition, that is formed from the influ- 
ence and exercises of resignation, is of celestial 
birth, subject to no entire extinction, uncor- 
rupted in prosperity, and triumphant through 
all the storms of life. Some in the civilized 
world inherit a natural ferocity, and are incli-^ 
ned from the cradle, to every species of crimi- 
nal enormity. Their rudeness increases with 
their years, and is confirmed by the various oc- 
currences of time. Like the insidious spider, 
they imbibe a poison from the fairest flowers 
of nature ; and day and night, they are the piti- 
ful subjects of the. star of wormwood. Edu- 
cation and the light of science are insufficient 
to remove their malignity, and are resembled 
by themagick lights that dart their baleful rays 
through the iron grates of a haunted castle. 
The rust and rudeness of such are irremoveable 
by the foil of association, and their malevolent 
inclinations unconquerable by all the arts and 
labours of friendly persuasion. The effects of 
resignation upon the temper and disposition of 
these rude sons of nature are great and interest- 
ing. Under the discipline of the holy Divini- 
ty, their hearts are transformed, the rising cor- 
ruptions of nature subdued, and the violence of 
infuriate passion, exchanged for a spirit of 
meekness and humiliation. _ 

Affliction and trial being attended with a 
sanctifying influence, are commissioned to wear 
away the rugged prominences of moral and re- 
maining deformity. Their actions assume an 
agreeable aspect, and are consecrated to perma- 
nent 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 183 



nent praise, by the purity of intention and the 
integrity of the heart. From the most for- 
bidding and barbarous feelings, they become the 
objects of esteem in the eye of reconciliation. 
In the sacred vestry of submission they receive 
the whitened raiments, and appear with harmo- 
ny and love among the assembly of the saints. 

Some are born to the possession of a great 
assemblage of agreeable qualities > and are uni- 
formly disposed to habits of moral virtue. 
They acquire with facility a knowledge oi 
men and things ; they are susceptible of all the 
tender impressions, that claim respect and readi- 
ly receive, in a high degree, the polish of refin- 
ed society. Common discrimination is bewild- 
ered in attempts to investigate the features, in 
which their resemblance to the sons of recon- 
ciliation essentially fails. Allured by the charm 
of their manners and the expansive benevolence 
of their heart, we place them above the neces- 
sity of amendment. Is, however, the influ- 
ence of resignation undiscernible on their dis- 
position and lives ? Has our holy religion 
found among the children of nature, a num- 
ber upon whom her transforming power can- 
not be exercised to visible advantage ? Char* 
acters, who bear the stamp of loveliness, are 
capable of a glorious alteration through the 
exercises of resignation. To resign a predilec- 
tion for the objects of sense ; to surmount the 
allurements of the world ; to relinquibh the 
gaudy fabrick of self-righteousness ; to adopt 
a devotional arid pious style of conversation ; 

to 



184 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



to renounce the unbecoming levities, that char- 
acterize the circles of fashion ; to be meek and 
mindful of God in prosperity ;*t'o be still and 
patiently devout in adversity ; to do; experience 
and exhibit ail these* is the exclusive' glory of 
reconciled souls-. The grace of Christ is not 
limited ; and if, by a holy submission to the' 
will of Heaven, the most barbarous' heart and 
life are changed and claim the plau Sits of pious' 
approbation ? what' transcendant lustre of dis- 
position and character must be displayed, where 
resignation is- less conflict ive*, and where grace 
has less of the plague of sin to remove from' 
the heait ? and its holy cfficiences are given to 
controul the brillance of natural powers, and" 
dispose the soul to imitate that holy Being, 
whose agency is eternally stamped with good^- 
ness and truth. 

Nature and art' are more successful in form- 
ing an agreeable disposition, than they are in' 
preserving it from the contagion of vice and 
the unhappy alterations, to which it is subject,, 
from the diversified scenes of time. Much of 
the amiableness, that distinguishes and endears 
tiie auspicious and unincumbered period of 
youth, is transient and vanishes forever from 
our view. Lite the morning rainbow, with 
all its alluring beauty, it betokens a noon-day 
darkness or an evening tempest. Man is of- 
ten unknown, as it regards the qualities of his 
heart and mind, while he walks in the paths of 
prosperity. Unaccustomed to the attacks of 
calamity, fris temper is unrolled, and he may 

seem 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



185 



seem disposed to goodness and virtue. Afflto 
tion and disappointment call into view the in- 
ward man, rankling with malignity, prevailingly- 
inclined to rebellion. Being destitute of resig- 
nation, the charm of their outward excellence 
is dissolved in the furnace of trial. Large is 
the number of those, who thus disappoint the 
charitable hopes and delighted confidence of 
the serious and wise. When they commence 
the habits of brutal intemperance ; when they 
become polluted by habits of fraud and injus- 
tice ; when they arm themselves with violence % 
the inquiring world ascribe all these newborn 
enormities to some peculiar trial or bewildering 
disappointment. They plead, in apology for 
their guilt, the irresistible and ruinous effects 
of misfortune, while Heaven knows that the 
malady is seated in an evil and irreconciled hearts 
The disposition of the submissive suffers no 
evil in the day of calamity. But the fairest 
picture of moral glory may be blotted out by 
a deed of rashness ; and the splendour of a 
useful life be tarnished forever, by bowing to 
the sceptre of temptation, and refusing to heark- 
en to the mandatory voice of Jehovah. 

Our mortal inheritance is crowded with a 
variety of trials and calamities. No human 
strength can turn them aside ; and neither the 
devices of the wicked, nor the holy importu- 
nity of the righteous can procure a path, that 
is entirely free from disappointment and sor- 
row. Afflictions of every kind have an essen- 
tial influence on the disposition and heart. This 

influence 



m SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



influence is like a chymical fire ; it promises ft> 
waste away, in subtle vapour, the rising enmity 
of the heart, while it give^ to this vita! poison, 
a more deleterious power, and prepares it to bt 
diffused, with an amazing volatility, through 
all the energies of body and mind. In others, 
it melts away the tinsel image of loveliness, 
and mingles the brightest gems of civil excels 
lence, with the useless crucibles of the furnace; 
There are many, whom it softens for a time, and 
only fits them for a more impenetrable hardness*, 
and prepares them to stand as fearless of God, as 
the iron image of ancient vision; These unhap- 
py effects of affliction upon the disposition and 
mind of man, are avoided by the holy agencies of 
resignation ; and all things are made to work to- 
gether for good. The pure gold is liable to no 
diminution from passing the fire ; the dross 
and alloy are left behind, and the precious sub- 
stance receives additional purity from every suc- 
cessive trial. In searching for the well dispos- 
ed, and for those whose tempers are infused 
with celestial love, whose benignity is not the 
creature of prosperity and propitious occurrenc- 
es, we must leave the sons and daughters of na- 
ture, and repair to the shrine of reconciliation ; 
there shall we find dispositions of intrinsic 
worth, and hearts that are moulded to virtue 
and holiness, whose garments of praise are the 
incorruptible gift of Heaven. 

As the disposition is much controuled by the 
influence of resignation, so likewise is the actu- 
al character of man. Pitiful is the opinion en- 
tertained 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. m 

pertained by thousands, that youthful inoffen- 
siveness, .united with the fashionable civilities 
jof life, and an inclination to perform the duties 
of morality, are the constituent principles of 
respectability and worth. Good character is 
not the growth of an hour ; it is not called in- 
to being by the transient salutation of the ear- 
]y dew, and the benignant ray of prosperity. 
These may originate a resemblance to the sub- 
jects of reconciliation, but like figures of wax- 
work, it retains its mimic beauty, while shel- 
tered from the storm, but melts to deformity 
in the heat of the day, and moulders to obliv- 
ion under the mist of the evening. Resigna- 
tion to the will of Heaven is indispensably re« 
quisite in the formation of character. The 
youth, who is governed by this holy exercise, 
is prepared to retain and enhance the glory of 
natural endowment, and of civil and scientific 
acquisition. Far from relying upon the out- 
ward splendour of action, success and prosper- 
ity are not permitted to bewilder and ensnare 
his soul, but kindle to purer fervours his love 
of a munificent Divinity. His virtuous prin- 
ciples are uniformly exercised to answer the de- 
mands of Divine glory, and they reveal them- 
selves in forms both of local and of universal 
benevolence. Every trial he is doomed to meet, 
confirms his integrity, and gives him an addi- 
tional elevation above the vanities and allure- 
ments of the world. Many characters that are 
formed independent of the exercises of resigna- 
tion, perish in feats of violence, or languish in 

the 



188 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. ' 



the scenes of voluptuous dissipation. Thou- 
sands go out apparently unspotted from the 
world, and return in an hour, indelibly tarnish- 
ed with corruption and vice. A reconciled spi- 
rit is free to go where providentially called ; it 
may travel the streets of the licentious ; it 
may pass the camp of infidelity, withstand the 
fiery darts of the wicked, and still retain the 
unmarred visage of the saint. 

Multitudes are raised into notice by an as- 
piring ambition. Their interest requires them 
to maintain an ostensible integrity of heart, to 
manifest a glowing and expansive benevolence, 
and to espouse, with indefatigable zeal, the 
cause of virtue and national aggrandizement. 
Attended with success, they obtain an exalted 
place on the rolls of fame. They are charmed 
with the fascinating splendour of their own 
deeds, and having a name to live, they believe 
that name to be immortal. Alas ! the race of 
ambition is short, the prize is vain, the plea- 
sure painful, and the glory transient ! Being 
destitute of the spirit of reconciliation, and dis- 
regarding the will of Heaven, they are driven, by 
the frowns of Providence, from the daring 
heights, to which they have soared, into the 
of disgrace and despair. 

Mental accomplishments and civilized man- 
ners are considered among the requisite materi- 
als of character. These are usually collected 
in the tender years of life, and raised into ami- 
able forms, by the fostering hand of parental 
care and academic instruction. Untried by 

experience 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. lW 



experience, the fair pupil is inspired with en- 
rapturing hopes and beholds with a pleasing 
enthusiasm the gilded perspectives of futurity. 
He advances into the world, disappointment 
and calamity assail him, temptations induce 
him to suspect the rectitude of divine govern- 
ment, and the materials of his character not 
being cemented by vital piety, nor defended 
by resignation are wrecked and thrown into ru- 
in. Stripped of his artificial disguise, he ap- 
pears in the ranks of the rebellious enemies of 
God. If we be guided by submission to the 
Divine will, our early acquirements are conse- 
crated to continual enlargement and perma- 
nence, our undertakings are stripped of their 
danger, whether they succeed or fail. What 
early genius and a becoming deportment have 
promised the world, we are enabled by the 
spirit of reconciliation to exhibit with encreas- 
ing lustre before their eyes. 

The usefulness of character depends greatly 
upon pious resignation. Men of eminent tal- 
ents and honorable principles are capable of 
services, that are worthy of praise and beneficial 
to the world. The secrets of nature have been 
explored with surprising success by the unde- 
vout. The paths of science have been illuminat- 
ed and the burdens of life diminished by the 
labours and inventions of unhallowed genius ; 
and the political sceptre has been swayed to 
advantage by those who asked not of God for 
wisdom. The good of society is daily promo- 
ted by exertions that are made without regard 
R to 



119 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



to the divine glory. If characters may be thus 
useful, independent of resignation, they must 
be infinitely more useful when formed by the 
guidance of Heaven, they abound in spiritual 
and temporal advantages. It may be danger- 
ous to imitate any fellow mortal, till our hearts 
become reconciled by the power of grace. The 
hearts and motives of others are reconciled be- 
neath the glare of noble actions and tribes of im- 
itating adventurers aspire to drink with them 
the lavish eulogies of fame. Pleased with the 
resemblance, they reject the only pattern of per- 
fect excellence. The greatest models of moral 
virtue are liable to failure. In times of grievous 
visitation, they leave us to wander alone in the 
wilderness of trial, to repine, to murmur, to 
languish and die* On the other hand the sub- 
jects of resignation are not inferior in their 
useful efficiences. In the day of prosperity and 
in the night of affliction they are burning 
lights on a rugged coast, that invite and guide 
us to safety. 

A constant and heedless view to the divine 
will and an unshaken confidence in the recti- 
tude of providential dealing leave no hour of 
life in which is wanting the most powerful mo- 
tives to benevolence and virtue. As the light 
and the darkness are alike to the Lord, and his 
goodness is an unceasing principle in his right- 
eous agency, so those who duly regard his holy. 
p!ea c ure and aspire to bear the restored image 
of tiicir Maker, are uniformly engaged in noble 
.uis and munificent deeds. The purest 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. %U 



charities of the heart are often exercised in se- 
crecy from the gazing world. Is our benevo- 
lence to slumber unless it can appear in great 
parade and ostentation ? A great portion of our 
time must expire without profit to ourselves or 
others. And who can say that this is not the 
pitiful condition of many unresigned soul?, 
whose characters however, are elevated to the 
heights of popular renown ? The utility of ac- 
tions is not to be calculated alone from their 
tendency to temporal good, for this bears no 
proportion to the everlasting good of the soul. 
By the influence of resignation we are qualifi- 
ed to alleviate the burdens of the depressed ; 
to remove the heavy melancholy and perplexing 
doubts, that hang upon the prospects of the af- 
flicted ; and to describe that sure refuge for all 
the children of reconciliation. No love of 
moral fame can incline the heart to benevolence 
and charity, like a holy regard to the will and 
glory of the Creator. If we are providentially 
beaten in the storm ; if we are disheartened by 
a succession of trials ; if we are persecuted by 
the invidious ; while there remains a drop of 
agony to be wrung from our hearts, it will be 
kind in Heaven to lead us to the doors of our 
humble and resigned fellow mortals, rather than 
to plead for the commiseration of those, who 
refuse subjection to the will of God. 

The influences of resignation are conspicu- 
ously displayed in dignifying the human char- 
acter. The intrinsic dignity of man must arise 
from virtuous and holy principles and the con- 
formity 



192 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

formity of his actions to the will of Heaven. 
Conciliated sentiments pf the Divinity, under all 
his dispensations, never fail to originate a re- 
semblance, according to our measure with his 
moral attributes and perfections. Our forfeit:* 
ed claims to his favour revive, by the exercises 
of submission, and are reestablished by the word 
of promise. The disgrace of apostacy is effec- 
tually removed, and we are favoured, with a 
participation of his communicated glory. Dig- 
nity that arises from natural. endowments, splen- 
did achievements, or from distinguishing titles is 
vain and transcient. But the honour that is 
bestowed through the exercises of submission is 
formed of emanation from above, and is both 
immortal and divine. The beauty of charact- 
er is also intimately connected, with a uniform 
and reverential subjecton to the divine will of 
our Creator. The subjects of regeneration are 
not immediately permitted to inherit the full 
measure of perfect men in Jesus Christ, The 
remains of corruption lurk within them ; in- 
firmities and moral rudeness mark their best ex- 
ertions, when however, they are called into the 
school of adversity and resign themselves under 
the rod of chastisement, their faults are correc- 
ted, their hearts meliorated and a new and 
more fervent obedience gives additional fairness 
to their moral beauty. Resignation quickens 
and purifies the tender sympathies of nature. It 
is easy to distinguish, from the unrelenting mul- 
titude, those who have experienced a refinement 
from the softening hand of affliction. Their 

deportment 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 193 



deportment is endeared by its peculiar mildness. 
They need no promises of reward, in order to 
engage them in the labours of benevolence. 
Being conformed to the will of Heaven they 
adorn and dignify their character with all the 
graces of our holy religion. 

The acceptability of character in the sight 
of God must depend upon the reconciliation 
of the heart to his holy will. The temporal 
advantages of a regular and active life are uni- 
versally acknowledged, and the infelicities of 
moral iniquity are proclaimed from all the haunts 
of the wretched. The fair forms of virtue and 
godliness procure the good opinion of the world. 
Habits of temperance and sobriety render the 
paths of promotion accessible to our feet, ena- 
ble us to participate with a lively relish the 
bounties of Providence, and favor us with a 
valuable share of social entertainment. The 
useful labours of genius command the privi- 
lege of basking in the full effulgence of mor- 
tal praise. Yet all these are insufficient to 
stamp a real worth upon character. The ap- 
plauding voice of millions can never delude 
the judge of the earth, nor confound before 
infinite discernment the distinctions between 
the labours of his grace and the works of hu- 
man strength. Hence an intolerable poignan- 
cy must attend the disappointment of those, 
who fondly compute the essential worth of 
character, from the transient benefits it pro- 
cures them on the journey of life. They sup- 
posed their virtues and the amiability of out- 
R 2 ward 



394 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION, 



ward deportment would purchase them an 
everlasting residence, in the complacency of 
the holy Divinity, that their outward appear- 
ance would be competent to conciliate his fa- 
vour, and make them be classed with the saints 
in glory. The great inspector of men and of 
conduct will penetrate the tinsel disguise and 
approve or condemn according to the state and 
complexion of the heart. Have they follow- 
ed the dictates of an unsubdued will ? they 
must appear before him, without a trait of his 
image or a single feature of loveliness. Tre- 
mendous beyond description must be that hour, 
when the boasted decorations of character, the 
lustre of popular renown, and the splendour 
of laudable achievements are doomed to pass 
away, like the charm of a dream. Resignation 
acquires from above those materials of charac- 
ter, which can never decay. It gives a new 
creation to the inward man, and draws in the 
soul a resemblance to Christ, that cannot be 
defaced by time nor death. Pleased with the 
purchase of his own blood and the communi- 
cated splendour of his moral excellence, the 
holy Redeemer will pronounce an eulogium 
upon the sons and daughters of resignation, 
and establish their character and glory upon the 
immoveable pillars of eternity. 



CHAPTER 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. m 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE INFLUENCE OF RESIGNATION ON DEVO- 
TION. 

CONSECRATED by Divine grace, 
the submissive and devotional exercises of the 
heart are accompanied with peculiar delight. 
The soul that is engaged in devotion, is, at once 
elevated above temporal vanities, where its no- 
bler sensibilities are alive to entertainments^ 
whose worth hath never entered the hearts of 
the speculative world. The high toned rap- 
tures of sense are of a mean origin and allied to 
pain and anguish ; their continuance is mo- 
mentary, and they are succeeded by languor 
and irksomeness Transient is the pleasure of 
that dream, in which we climb to some allur- 
ing eminence ; and it is often succeeded by 
the breath suspending pain of falling into the 
depths of woe. So our ascent in raptures is 
frequently followed by the most depressing 
sentiments of wretchedness. The joys of de- 
votion are far different. Are they high ? they 
do not fatigue the powers of the mind* Are 
they faint ? they cease not to be pure and pre- 
cious. They flow from the Divine nature, and 
never can suffer any diminution of excellence 
from the most grevious vicissitudes of tempo- 
ral life. Publick and private devotion will for- 
ever characterize the children of God. Al- 
though, it cannot be supposed that the counsels 



»S SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



of the Almighty will be altered by the inter- 
cessions of piety i yet devotion is appointed as 
a mean of access to the throne of grace, and 
also a medium, by which the rays of sovereign 
mercy are poured upon the soul. The foun- 
tain of natural light is the same from genera- 
tion to generation. If the shaded and wither- 
ed plant in the forest be invigorated and cloth- 
ed with glory through the influence of vivify- 
ing light, it is not because the sun hath altered 
its course, but because the hemlock and night 
shade are radically removed from the soil, and 
bo longer beshroud it in their fatal darkness. 
Thus if the soul be renewed by devotion and 
quickened by Divine light,, it does not imply, 
that the purposes of God are changed, but 
rather that the sins and stubbornness of our 
hearts are destroyed, which alone exclude us 
from the light of his countenance^ 

Publick devotion mingles with it "a fellow 
feeling, calculated to enliven our love of God 
and man, and is designed both to improve our 
social talents and to honour in publicity our 
great Creator. Secret devotion seems to bring 
us nearer to Heaven, where the soul without 
reserve can unbosom all its desires. It is high- 
ly probable, the purest joys are found in this 
private access to the throne of grace. Resig- 
nation is indispensably requisite in this delight- 
ful employment. 

The resigned soul alone is qualified to con> 
mune with the holy Divinity ; it cheerfully ac- 
quiesces in the disposal of events, and is raised 

towards 



SENTIMENTS oh RESIGNATION. 197 



towards Heaven, with increasing love and rev- 
erence. Resignation brightens before it the 
glorious perspectives of faith, and enables it to 
discover the unalterable righteousness and 
judgement, which are the habitation of God's 
throne forever. Without submission there 
can be no pleasure in devotional employment. 
Prayer would become an empty form and the 
earnest pleadings of the heart would constitute 
a scene of solemn mockery. The unresigned 
can have no regard to the Divine glory, either 
in their secret exercise or open transactions. 
They contend for the dominion ; or, in other 
language, endeavour to persuade the Almighty 
to bend from the counsels of his own will, and 
conform to their feelings and views, instead of 
aiming to be transformed and likened to the 
Divine nature. 

Resignation is accompanied with an impar- 
tial feeling for all, whom it shall please God to 
make the subjects of his grace. The natural 
pride and revengeful sentiments of our hearts 
would induce us to a different course and pol- 
lute our sacrifice with malevolence. We should 
feel at least a secret unwillingness that God 
should make the poor and wretched and espe- 
cially our inveterate enemies as fair or fairer 
candidates for glory than ourselves. Devotion 5 
that is wrought in the spirit of true submission, 
deposits all artificial distinction with hatred 
and malice in the dust, and unites in joy with 
the hosts of Heaven over one repenting sinner, 
whether he be a beggar, who trembles at our 

g ate * 



fk SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



gate, or a magistrate, who rules a nation, and 
rejoices in the hope of meeting in Heaven all 
those unto whom Christ shall be pleased to 
administer an entrance. 

True devotion elevates the soul into a sus- 
taining view of the Divine promises. Even a 
timorous expectation of their accomplishment 
Upon us kindles in the heart the sacred fer- 
vours of christian zeal. The dreary distance 
from fhe present to a future period is enlight- 
ened by faith ; and without immediate experi- 
ence of promised blessings the soul is resigned 
and rejoices chat God's word is not subject to 
vanity, but is unalterably true in every point 
concerning which it is righteously spoken.' 
Destitute , of this submission man is poorly 
qualified to address his God in prayer. Being 
unresisted with regard to the time fixed in 
infinite wisdom for the bestowment of promis- 
ed blessings, he will fervently solicit them ; and 
because they do not descend at the conclusion 
of his petitions, his supposed faith is gradually 
extinguished, impatience succeeds, and the 
whispering language of his soul is in the style of 
ancient pride ; " Depart from us, for we de- 
sire not the knowledge of thy ways," 

The manner,- in which Divine favours are' 
confered upon us, requires the exercises of re- 
signation. The prayerful orphan is entitled: 
by the word of promise to the parental pro- 
tection of his God. In answering prayers, 
that embrace the desirable blessing, he may 
frequently find the trials and afflictions of life, 

encreased* 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNx\TION. I99 



increased at every step, and the fervours for 
which he pleads, disguised beneath the dark * 
apparel of calamity/ Reconciliation render? 
delightful the holy importunity of his soul, and 
mingles with devotion the sustaining influen- 
ces of patience and hope. 

That part of prayer, which relates to the 
triumphs of grace in the hearts of others, and 
the approach of millenial glory, must be made, 
with entire submission to the Divine sovereign- 
ty, in order to constitute a transforming and 
edifying service. The changes that are to be 
brought about, the instruments that are to be 
employed are known only of God. The time 
in which the wrath of man shall rage and Chris- 
tianity with all its votaries subject to the 
sarcastick smile of infidelity, must be submitted 
to the great Judge of the earth. We must 
realize, as the Heavens are high above the earth, 
so are his ways above our ways, and his thoughts 
above our thoughts. Thus, through the in- 
fluence of the spirit, piety delights to name 
the hope of Zion, and dwell in her prayers en 
the triumphs of her exalted King. 

In pubiick and private our prayers are made 
with a view of obtaining the soul transforming 
influences of grace and evangelical doctrines. 
Much consolation arises from the hopes, that 
we may be guided by the spirit of truth to a 
right understanding of the everlasting gospel. 
Irreconciliation wishes to enjoy the fruits of 
Divine doctrines, but is opposed to the mode 
pf their operation, and complains of the scveri- 



200 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



ty of their requisition. If it solicits the effect 
of salutary doctrines, it by no means consents 
to relinquish the favourite entertainments of 
the world. It would incorporate with natur- 
al and philosophick principles those Divine 
precepts and doctrines, which would give a 
brilliance to outward character and confirm the 
claims to renown, Nothing can be more pro- 
voking in the sight of God, than for man to 
plead for the forms of godliness, while he de- 
nies and attempts to elude the power. The 
subjects of reconciliation desire the vital influ- 
ences of grace, and the full operations of Di- 
vine counsel, the restraints of which are follow- 
ed with joy and an increasing purity of life 
and character. 

Vital ^reconciliation is too frequently the 
cause of that discouragement and irksomeness 
that brood in the retreats of the closet. It is 
a current opinion among men, that there is a 
Divinity in the Heavens, whose ear is forever 
attentive to the cries of his rational offspring. 
There are probably but few, who have arrived 
to years of discernment, who have not been 
forced by fear and sinking infirmity, to lift a 
suppliant eye to the present help in time of need. 
When they are assailed by danger and encom- 
passed with terrifick threatenings, they feel a 
kind of conscious sincerity in their reiterated 
petitions for mercy, receiving none, however, 
because they ask amiss, they become wearied of 
the experiment and dare to suspect the efficacy 
of prayer, till driven to the last extremity, they 

invite 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 201 



invite the righteous around them, tremulously 
entreating them ; " Call upon your God, if so 
be he may hear and have mercy, that we perish 
not." No sooner does the storm subside, the 
thunders retire from the sky, and the billows of 
tribulation recede, than the pride of the heart 
arises from its lurking seclusion, rallying from 
depression every rebellious feeling, leading 
them without hesitation, to ascribe every de- 
votional exercise to human weakness and the 
relentless empire of superstition. An unrecon- 
ciled and unsubdued will excludes from the 
heart the smiles of Divine favour, and the 
same will inclines them to bid a final adieu to 
the sacred shrine of devotion. 

From the imperious dictates of early instruc- 
tion and habit it is commom for men to re- 
gard a round of devotional duties. It would 
resemble an excruciating abstinence from the 
comforts of life, to make omission of the in- 
tercessory forms to which they had been Jong 
addicted ; and for the want of true resignation 
these forms are an irksome task ; and the rich- 
est felicity they can boast, arises from a vain 
expectation, that they have appealed the wrath 
of indignant Heaven, and constituted an atone- 
ment for sins already committed. The resign- 
ed soul is not constrained by fear alone, nor by 
the power of habit to its devotional exercises. 
It is drawn by the sweet influences of the spirit, 
and by the unalterable attractions of the Divine 
glory ; and in scenes of the deepest distress, or 
the most unclouded prosperity, it visits with 
joy the hallowed altar of devotion, and pours 
S its 



202 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



its incense from the celestial phials of reconcile 
iation. 

There are certain seasons, in which resigna- 
tion conveys its luminous and purifying influ- 
ence upon devotion. Peculiarly adapted to 
this desirable effect are the retirements of the 
evening. The importunity of secular care is 
then suspended. The allurements of visible 
objects cease to divide attention, the vanities of 
fashion, the noise and bustle of popular con 7 
cernments are not heard to bewilder our 
thoughts, or to stifle the devotional aspirations 
of the soul. We reflect upon the scenes of 
life, and discern with reverence that controul- 
ing hand, that draws the features of our condi « 
tion. However grievous the allotments of 
Providence, we dare not entertain a wish, that 
they had been less embittered by chastisement^ 
or less encumbered with the weight of trial. 
Rejoicing that the Lord reigneth, we lift our 
waiting eyes to Heaven, our bosoms glow with 
pure and fervent affection, and our spirits are 
richly entertained from the fountain of life and 
joy. In the evening the heart and the mind 
are susceptible of impressions and thoughts, 
which are not experienced at other seasons. 
The charms of musick, the voice of friendship, 
and the tidings from distant kindred are the 
most enrapturing, when they are heard at the 
close of the day. We are then free to asso- 
ciate a thousand endearing circumstances, which 
are all surveyed with enchantment. Would 
the youth be sensible of the immortality of 
love, and retain in absence its purest fervours, 

he 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 20$ 



tie would select the silent hour of retirement- 
Did the rays of the moon sport in the tear of 
affection, and but half reveal the charms of his 
endeared object, it would be enough. Fancy 
would supply the portrait, and bind it on the 
heart forever. The reciprocal vows of fidelity 
are not made toJLLfe-, vanish away, but to abide, 
vvithin the sacred records of memory. If we 
ask the guilty, at what season they are most 
alive to the corroding impressions of remorse, 
and to the terrours of Divine vengeance, they 
will reply, it is in the night. And to hurry 
themselves from terrifick thoughts, they must 
summon the powers of invention to devise new 
schemes of enormity or to apologize to the 
Conscience for those, which they have already 
achieved. Hence it is by no means mysterious, 
that resigned and devotional souls are favoured 
with the sublimest visions of faith, and the 
most celestial and glorious impressions, during 
the watches of the night. Those moments, iu 
which we awake from sleep and meditate upon 
the holy Divinity with devout and reconciled 
feelings, exceed, in worth and edifying influence, 
years that are passed in the noise and diverting 
allurements of the world. 

There are times of danger, which are trying 
to the soul. Infidelity is made to tremble in 
presence of impending ruin. The inflated 
courage of the votaries of modern philosophy 
fails. Licentiousness stands aghast, agonizing 
under the cruel darts of remorse, and compell- 
ed with awe, solicits the interposition of Di- 
vine mercy. In these alarming scenes resigna- 
tion 



m SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



tion has a happy and distinguishing effect upon 
the devotion of the pious* It procures a holy 
fortitude and gives a calmness and a sincerity 
to the supplications, that are offered to God in 
the name of his Anointed. To illustrate this 
sentiment, the insertion of an extract from the 
journal of a friend may not be entirely useless* 
** The sixth day of our passage we lingered un- 
der a perfect calm. At evening twilight the 
awful silence of nature was broken, by the hol- 
low murmuring of a distant tempest, which 
seemed to be travelling in awful majesty upon 
"us. From several infallible signs discovered in 
the heavens, it was announced expedient to 
make speedy preparation for that catastrophe, 
which was no sooner betokened than it began 
to be felt. The skies were wrapped in darkness, 
the tempest raged with irresistable fury, and 
death and eternity were the only perspectives 
before us. At this time, I left my companions 
on deck promiscuously callings for help and re- 
paired to the apartment, unto which the amia- 
ble and timid female, whom I had before men- 
tioned, had repaired. I found her kneeling, 
and by the aid of the gleams of her lamp dis- 
covered her celestial visage. Being interrupted 
in her devotions, she involuntarily exclaimed ; 
** Watchman what of the night ?" I was too 
deeply affected to make any reply. She sedate- 
ly turned her eyes to Heaven again. Her lips 
moved, but the howling of the wind through 
the cordage of the ship, the noise of the bro- 
ken and convulsed waters prevented my hearing 
any thing more than the following detached 

expressions 



SENTIMENTS dn RESIGNATION. 205 



expressions of reconciled devotion, cc Deep 
crieth unto deep — thine own time and thine 
own way are the best — my father and my moth- 
er — wipe away from their eyes the teats of sor- 
row — shall I see their face no more ? — could I 
inform them that thou art a present help in 
time of trouble — not mine but thy will be 
done — come quickly Lord Jesus/' At the 
fourth watch of the night the storm abated, 
and the dangers, with which, we had been 
threatened, had retreated. The interesting and 
devout conversation of this lovely saint, togeth- 
er with her unshaken fortitude, rendered my 
passage one of the most interesting scenes of 
my life. Her age was but seventeen years, 
and she had lately been admitted into a regular 
Baptist Church in the vicinity of our metrop- 
olis." 

But few in the christian world are constantly 
favoured with the cheering illuminations of 
faith and hope. Darkness, melancholy and 
doubt are more or less crouded into the scenes 
of probationary experience. These evils are 
not easily removed by the influence of society. 
Social diversions only serve to make us forget 
for a moment that wretchedness to which our 
consciousness is again awakened, with ehcreas- 
ed discouragement. Profound meditation will 
frequently weary and bewilder the mind, and 
summon into view a thousand disheartening 
fears and alarming apprehensions. In solitary- 
devotion the soul is restored from its melan- 
choly depression, and is made by Divine grace 
to soar above the darkened aspect of surround - 
S 2 ing 



205 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

ing objects. The devout sensations of the 
heart and the feelings of celestial influence pro- 
cure a deliverance from the irksome intenseness 
of disconsolate thought, and the perplexing con- 
cernments of the world, [n the retired sanctu- 
ary of private prayer our views of the charac- 
ter of God are restored with additional bright- 
ness, and in the blood of the Lamb is discov- 
ered the power of atonement for sin. The 
righteousness of Christ is applied by the spirit ; 
and the triumphs of grace over the depravity 
of the heart are conspicuously . manifested. 
The painful repining at our apostate condition is 
removed, by the hopes of a glorious reinstatement 
into the Divine favour, according to a plan wise- 
ly and mercifully devised, before the foundations 
of the earth were laid. These effects of solita- 
ry devotion are not to be realized by every one 
who is driven to the closet by the power of 
fear, by grievous bereavement, or by a constitu- 
tional melancholy, but by those, who confiden- 
tially submit to the Divine government, who 
reverence their Creator, when he walks in a pa- 
vilion of darkness, or when he appears in all 
the splendour of his reconciled countenance. 
It is then that the depressed spirit is raised 
from the caverns, in which it has groaned. 
When the soul can say, continue me in dark- 
ness ; protract the night of my calamity so long 
as thy glory and thy will require ; then it is 
usually found, that the light is not far distant, 
that it will soon burst upon us, like the full ef- 
fulgence of the morning upon the benighted 
and wandering sons of a shepherd. 

The 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION, 20? 



The unexpected reception of favour and mer- 
cy constrains us to repair to the shrine of devo- 
tion and offer the incense of praise to our Heav- 
enly Father. When we are called to retreat 
from the brink of the grave, when we are de- 
livered from the agony of bodily pain ; or when 
we are favoured with the triumph over the at- 
tacks of malevolence ; what fervours of grati- 
tude are kindled in our hearts ? We feel the 
need of a thousand tongues in order to express 
the full amount of encreased obligation. En- 
tire reconciliation is necessary to perpetuate and 
heighten the charm of our devotional thanksgiv- 
ings. While a relick of dissatisfaction con- 
cerning the Divine government is to be found 
in the soul, our praises will be languid and our 
intercessions will be mingled with scrupulosity 
and slavish fear. Resignation brings us so near 
to Heaven and our God, that we discern with 
reverence the rectitude of his ways. We are 
troubled with no contending desire, that the 
trials and evils, through which we have passed, 
had been less alarming or less attended with 
poignancy and fatigue. We have no wish that 
the intervals of our prosperity had been pro- 
tracted to greater lengths, or brightened with a 
greater radiance, than what the Almighty was 
pleased to bestow upon them. The spirits, are 
now recreated by the return of celestial benigni- 
ty. Obedience, which is an infallible path to 
glory and consolation, more deepi\ than ever 
engages the soul. Every power is summoned 
into exercise and concurs with a train of gra- 
cious affections, to make our life a scene of wisd 

employment, 



m SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 

employment, a song of praise, and an example 
of pure devotion. 

To resign ourselves by an act of devotion to 
the arms of our Redeemer, is an infallible method 
of surmounting the allurements ot vice, and 
the temptations that arise in disguised forms 
around us. If we hazard our character and 
felicity upon our own ability to resist and van- 
quish at pleasure the dangers and difficulties, 
that throng our course ; if we vainly wish to 
magnify our bravery and firmness by actual ex- 
periment ; or if we dare to enter the field of 
conflict alone, we shall fall a prey to the great 
devouref of the souls of rfren. How often have 
we found the power of reason, combined with 
the most strenuous exertions we could possibly 
command, incompetent to procure us an escape 
from the fascinating but deathly empire of 
iniquity ? During one moment of resigned de- 
votion the energies of the soul are quickened 
and encreased, temptations are divested of their 
charm, and with facility they are driven into 
disperson. Yet, how frequently do men com- 
plain of the penurious consolations of prayer ? 
From the depths of their affliction they have 
earnestly pleaded for relief ; under the fears of 
death they have lifted both night and day their 
voices unto Heaven ; and in the scenes of pros- 
perity every hour has been perfumed with the 
incense of praise ; yet their grievances were not 
redressed ; their joys remained the sport of 
change, or enbalmed to immortality by all the 
odours of devotional gratitude. This com- 
plaint equally announces the complexion of the 

faeart 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 20* 



heart and the want of reconciliation to the will 
of Heaven. Young man ! hast thou a care for 
thy soul? before thou consentest to enter the 
gilded hall of dissipation, bow in submission and 
devote thyself to Christ ; and thy character shall 
not retire in shame to the grave. Invidious 
slanderer ! before thou poison thy arrows in mal* 
ice, ask leave of thyself to spend one moment 
under the influences of true reconciliation, and 
thy words and thy counsel will become harmless. 
Blasphemous infidel ! deposit thy weapons ; sub- 
mit to the sceptre of Jehovah, and devoutly 
solicit the light of his countenance, and thou 
shalt see the traveller in dyed garments, rever- 
ence the greatness of his strength, and rejoice 
that he has trodden the wine press alone. 



CHAPTER 



$10 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



THE INFLUENCE OF RESIGNATION ON THE 
SENTIMENTS OF MORTALITY. 



hour are not the only seasons, in which we are 
awake to the sentiments of mortality. They 
force their way to the young and tremulous 
heart ; they visit the bosoms of the gay, and 
are not intirely excluded from the sons of dis- 
sipation and mirth. We afe admonished of 
our own dissolution by all the objects that com- 
mand our notice, and by all the diversified scenes 
of life j 

To enlarge the sphere of thought,* and store 
the mind with useful knowledge, we fondly 
search the records of times that are past. We 
bring into view that small number of actors* 
who have immortalized their names by bathing 
in rivers of blood, by swaying with renown the 
rod of dominion, or by labours of lasting utilf* 
ty ; but we enquire in vain for the countless 
multitude, whose agency, together with their 
names and style of condition are swallowed up 
in oblivion. We are forced to pause and sigh 
that they were once alive, like ourselves ; that 
of the dust they were formed, and to the dust 
they have all returned. We travel in obedi- 
ence to a restless curiosity, and inspect with 
pleasing wonder the works of genius, of art and 
of taste. In speechless awe we tread on the 



CHAPTER IX. 




INGERING sickness and a dying 



ruins 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 21i 



ruins of antient magnificence, and are overtaken 
with solemn impressions of the wide and relent- 
less empire of death. Our feelings of joy are 
usually followed by feelings that alarm the love 
of life, by bringing to our view the narrowness 
of its limits. The works of nature richly en- 
tertain the heart and instruct the mind ; and 
while they loudly proclaim the wisdom of their 
Creator, they also speak of their own demoli- 
tion. If we compare the length of our days with 
continuance of the objects around us, they are 
scarcely more than a fleeting vision. Often has 
the morning flower survived the hand that plant- 
ed it, and the eye that viewed with soft delight 
its growth and bloom. The trees, we have rear- 
ed with a kind of parental affection, are left to 
shed and renew their foliage and fruit, while we 
are slumbering in the silent grave. The remo- 
val of our connexions and friends, allows no 
hour of our existence to pass away unthronged 
with the thoughts of dissolution. The retire* 
ment of the evening, the riqging silence of the 
night refer the mind to the approaching events 
of infinite solemnity. To the natural heart 
those sentiments of mortality are accompanied 
with pain, and with a depressing weight of fear 
and dread. It would gladly evade their influ- 
ence, and wrap itself in some pleasing fiction, 
in which to dream away a transient life. At- 
tempts to this pitiful evasion are fruitless. The 
admonitions of death are so unremitting with- 
out, and so important within our bodies, that 
they will command our alarmed attention. 
Resignation, hawever, proffers her consolation, 

and 



212 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



and gives a salutary influence to those thoughts 
and feelings, from which the world desire to be 
exempted. 

When the sentiments of mortality are awak- 
ened in the unresigned heart, they have a nat- 
ural tendency to depress the spirits, darken every 
prospect, and render irksome the labours of life. 
Convinced of the fading nature of earthly ob- 
jects, and the uncertainty of enjoying in a fu- 
ture day the fruits of our present exertions, our 
courage fails, and the powers of our body and 
mind are wrapped in languor and sloth, and it 
is left to the murmurings of a restless spirit 
alone, to announce that we are yet alive. In 
all our laborious undertakings we are obliged to 
forget that we are mortal, or embrace an en- 
chanting delusion in order to accomplish them 
with alacrity and speed. Ambition refuses to 
lead us in its gorgeous career, the moment it 
discerns the emptiness of its richest glory. It re- 
coils from the belief that dissolution will consign 
to forgetfulness the splendid actions and the dis- 
tinguishing laurels of secular greatness. The 
hardy hand of avarice is palsied in the hour of 
reflection. When the brevity of life and cer- 
tainty of death are seriously discerned, we muse 
with depressing melancholy over our riches, 
and tremble beneath the apprehension, that we 
must leave them to the possession of others, and 
mingle without distinction with the dust of the 
meanest mortals. Under the impression of 
death we are liable to perform in a slighty man- 
ner those things which are enjoined upon us by 
imperious necessity, A great portion of our 

agency 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 21S 



agency terminates with the exigences of the 
present moment. Since we can promise our- 
selves neither health, nor life in any future peri- 
od, we forbear to labour, reserving our strength 
to reproach the Divine government, and to 
contrive amendments which we vainly suppose 
might well be made in the laws of Heaven. 

Resignation has a surprising influence on the 
sentiments of dissolution. It takes away their 
poignancy, and removes their depressing effects. 
It reverses their influence, and makes them 
subserve our temporal and eternal interest. 
Although the fading features of material ob- 
jects, and the ultimate evanescence of the whole 
terrestrial scenery impress our minds with our 
own approaching doom* yet these impressions 
are mingled with the sublimest feelings of im- 
mortality. Our energies are called at once 
from their listless retreats and unremittingly 
engaged in the momentous concernments of be- 
ing. We are conscious that many of our pre- 
sent comforts were procured through the instru- 
mentality of our ancestors, We are enabled to 
surmount the discouragements that arise from 
the precarious tenure of our own lives. To 
supply the wants of the day is not: sufficient, 
but in obedience to Divine requirement we ap- 
propriate our strength to labours of utility and 
permanence. If some future traveller should 
:find a refuge from the storm, or from the heat 
£>f day, beneath the works of our hands, en- 
quire fpr our name, and bless bis God, we are 
amply rewarded for our exertions. If we be 
satisfied with the unoriginated councils of Je- 
T hovah, 



214 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



hovah, and with the righteous allotments of 
his providence, we shall enter the field of duty 
with a becoming zeal, and rejoice to be found 
among the subsidiary instruments in accom- 
plishing his infinitely wise and benevolent de- 
signs. The space appointed for our abode oxx 
earth is narrow. All its portions may be easily 
dialled on the point of a diamond. However 
unimportant they may seem, yet they are all 
connected with the realities of eternity. These 
sentiments of frailty under the influence of a 
holy reconciliation alarm alike our fears and 
hopes, drive the brooding languors of indolence 
from our souls, and excite a practical regard to 
the injunctions of former wisdom, which re- 
quires us to do with our might whatsoever our 
hands find to do, assuring us there is neither 
knowledge, nor device in the grave whither we 
are hastening. To realize our transient being, 
without the exercises of submission, either sti- 
fles the love of exertion, or hurries us on to ag- 
gravated rebellion. For a murmuring spirit h 
sometimes a mountain upon us, and again it 
drives lis forward, like a legion that possesses 
the heart, tempting it to every sinful invention. 

Fruitful of advantage are submissive reflec- 
tions upon the transient and eventful nature of 
the present state. We are indissolubly bound 
to the agile wings of time, and are conveyed 
with equal celerity, whether we slumber and 
linger, or be deeply engaged in the great con- 
cerns of our future felicity. During our 
most vacant hours a hidden hand is always em- 
ployed in fixing the complexion and style of 

our 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 215 



cur future condition. Thdughts like these 
awake our immortal part. It fears to arrive at 
the world of spirits, without a wise improve- 
ment of time and talents. We are excited to 
double our dilligence to redeem the time, and 
strive to be found invested with the righteous- 
ness of Christ; When the apostle would en- 
force on the tiiind the great solemnities that 
await us beyond the grave, he addresses out 
sentiments of mortality ; he presents to our 
view the shortness of time, the certain dissolu- 
tion of the tender connexions and attachments 
that are formed on earth, and enjoyed with so 
much delight. When we feel with him, that 
the fashion of the world passech away, aspira- 
tions after Heaven are quickened, and strength- 
ened within us, and we look for a city, whose 
builder and maker is God. 

Resignation renders beneficial the sentiments 
6f mortality, by making them lead to just con- 
ceptions of the dignity and worth of the souh 
If we be so reconciled to our Heavenly father, 
that we can meditate without dread upon that 
momentous period when creation shall groan 
and die ; can we dare, when wrapped in the si- 
lence of night, bring into view the solemnities 
of eternity ! what a multitude of sublime and 
transporting thoughts rush in upon the mind. 
We survey our exalted rank in the chain of be- 
ing, and feel, that, after the worm has rioted 
upon our bodies, we shall live and out live the 
luminaries of the sky. We are thus excited to 
spend the infancy of existence to the honor and 
glory of God. that its matured state may be 

employed 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



employed in songs of deathless praise. TV 
illustrate the worth and transcendent dignity of 
the soul, and to evince the infinite importance 
of a pious life, an inspired saint calls up to view 
the feelings of mortality, by bringing into view 
the tremendous doom, which awaits the glori- 
ous works of creation* i <c The day of the 
" Lord," said he, " will come as a thief in the 
€C night y in the which the heavens shall pass 
"away with a great noise, and the elements 
" shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, 
€i and the works that are therein, shall be burn- 
" ed up." Here we are tremblingly awake to 
the most solemn thoughts of dissolution. Our 
weakness and frailty are sensibly felt, and we can 
scarcely suppress our fears of being lost, with 
kindred atoms, in the immensity of death's 
l&tt labours. The sentiments of mortality are 
excited, and to them he addresses the following 
language. " Seeing then, that all these things 
€t shall be dissolved, what manner of persons 
c< ought ye to be, in all holy conversation and 
" godliness, looking for and hasting unto the 
cc coming of the day of God, wherein the 
u Heavens, being on fire, shall be dissolved, and 
46 the elements shall melt with fervent heat ? 
<s Nevertheless, we, according to his promise^ 
" look for a new Heaven and a new earthy 
" wherein dwelleth righteousness." 

On the scale of comparison we appreciate the 
objects around us and denominate them valua- 
ble or worthless, according to their appearance 
in a contrasted view. While wretchedness re- 
piningly broods over her own maladies, she sup- 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 2tt 



fbses that the cup of woe, and the dregs there- 
of are appointed to her alone. But when she 
looks around, and finds that other calamaties 
more than equal her own, her burden imper- 
ceptibly diminishes and a sustaining fortitude 
enables her to triumph over the melancholy de- 
pressions of the heart. The possessors of a 
competency often experience a restless dissatis- 
faction when they look with a coveting eye upon 
the splendid inheritance of the rich and the 
great. By surveying, however, the lower paths 
of fortune, they return to their own possessions,, 
with renovated delight 5 and more perfect con- 
tentment. While the sumptuous lords of the 
earth confine their walks within the limits of 
their own magnificence and grandeur, they im- 
perceptibly lose the charms of bounty, and they 
partake the luxury of their tables with less de* 
light than is felt by the weared sojourner, who 
receives his scanty allowance beneath the oak r 
that shades his way. 

Our ideas of good, of evil, of happiness, and^ 
of misery are necessarily formed upon the prin- 
ciples of comparison. Our life is long, com- 
pared with the life of many inferior animals ; 
but it is short compared with the primitive age 
of man, arid shorter still, when compared with 
the continuance of the material world, and it 
shrinks to a point, when compared with un- 
bounded eternity. Intuitive views are beyond 
the reach of human attainment. We are obli- 
ged to reason and to compare things that are 
temporal with those that are eternal, in order 
to estimate their respective worth and impor- 
T % tance* 



J215 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



tance. When we consider the perishable na- 
ture of earthly objects ; when we discover the 
works of art and genius nodding and moulder- 
ing away, or when we gaze in silence at the dis- 
figured vestiges of former magnificence, the 
impressions of dissolution are sensibly experien- 
ced. We realize that we have no continuing 
city below, and are compelled to travel in 
thought, searching for a country which is not 
subject to the empire of decay. If resignation 
befriend our endeavours, and pour its tranquil- 
izing influence on the mind, we are enabled to 
transfer our thoughts from temporal vanities, 
to the unfading scenes of the celestial world. 
The former are, at best, but the gilded toys, 
that amuse the infancy of being ; the latter are 
substantial realities, entirely competent to an- 
swer the desires of the matured and immortal 
soul. The instability of human affairs, the 
painful vicissitudes through which we are called 
to pass, cause us to feel our frailty and imperfec- 
tions. From impressions of this kind we are urged 
to seek after a world that is above the reach of de- 
rangement and change. By submitting to the di- 
vine will, his immutable councils, the glory 
and permanence of his government invite our 
confidence, command our affections, and sus- 
tain our spirits. No art can imitate, nor hy- 
pocricy counterfeit the sensations that croud up- 
on the heart, while we witness with pious sub- 
mission the languishment and departure of en- 
deared connexions. The tender attachments 
that bind us to the world, that seem essential 
in supporting the springs of life, are dissolved. 

The 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 213 



The tremulous struggles of the transient in- 
fant, the expiring groans of those who have ar- 
rived to riper years, draw before us in forceful 
language the warrant of our own dissolution, 
If we look backward there is death, or forward 
behold it is there. As the fowl, that hovers in 
vain for rest over the bubbles of the swelling 
flood, must flee to the distant mountain ; so the 
soul is driven from the empty shadows and 
forms of sublunary bliss to light and rest on 
the eternal tree of life, Love and affliction are 
hard to be extinguished ; they mysteriously 
elude the power and triumphs of death. The : 
sentiment of dissolution kindles them to purer 
flames, and infuses them with something celes- 
tial and divine. We receive the hand of a de- 
parting friend, and hear him bid us, in faulter- 
i-ng accents, " farewell adding, " We shall^ 
M soon meet again, where the tear of sympa- 
" thetick sorrow shall start and fall no more 
" from our eyes, but where love shall be pure 
" from the fountain - 5 eternal as the Heavens y 
" making glad forever the city of Godv ,r 

Thus by comparing the transiency of tem- 
poral things with the permanent scenes of fu- 
turity, impressions of frailty are awakened, and 
these are the pangs that precede the birth of 
immortal hopes, and the consolatory aspirations 
after unfading glory. Our thoughts on death, 
when controulled by resignation, have a peculiar 
influence in softening, and rendering seraphick 
the charities of domestick and social life. Rea* 
son and argument are not always successfully 
employed against the strength of passion audi 

the 



Z20 SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



the ebullitions of a roiled temper. A single" 
sentiment of immortality will do more in van- 
quishing our peevish and querulous feelings/ 
than a host of tardy arguments. If we reflect 
on the shortness of our days, and the approach- 
ing solemnities of a dying hour, we lose at 
once a propensity to plant our path with 
thorns, on which ourselves and others must 
tread with anguish= y We have no inclination 
to darken our narrow sky with the sombre 
fumes of discord, or the noxious vapours, that* 
arise from a cynical morosity y and much less 
to dress with night shade the table of Divine 
bounty, and mingle the cup of entertainment 
with the poison of malice and remorse ; know- 
ing that sufficient for the day are the unavoid- 
able evils thereof. We kindly endeavour to' 
meliorate our condition by reciprocal benevo-* 
lence ; by bearing each others burdens, and by' 
soothing to rest our rising pangs and anxious * 
cares* . , 

The impressions of frailty and dissolution/ 
when felt in true submission to the Divine will/ 
prevent much criminality and guilt, into which 1 
we are liable to be hurried, when left to the dic- 
tates of lust and passions Let the blood thirs-" 
ty warrior but say to himself, 64 I am but a 
•f worm of the dust, endangered by the moth, 
•* and in constant hazard of being crushed by 
" the finger of vengeance ; I must shortly be 
" brought to the receptacle of the dead " and 
he will recoil from carnage and human slaugh- 
ter. He will dread the thought of being over- 
taken by death, while performing some horrid 

deed/ 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION; tH 

deed, and leaving behind him a blood written 
name, that shall be immortalized by the exe- 
crations of indignant posterity. Under all 
temptations to lewdness, to dissipation and in^ 
justice, the returning feelings of our own mor- 
tality and the succeeding judgment, never faily 
if we resign our cause to God, of restraining the 
heart and interdicting the commission of 
crimes, to which we are forcefully tempted. 
Reconciliation renders beneficial the sentiments 
of our frailty, by making them conduce to ^ 
spirit of candour and commiseration. When 
it be realized that we are all subject to infirm- 
ities, that we are men of like passions, allured- 
by the same vanities, and misguided by the 
same prejudices, we are constrained to look up- 
on our fellow mortals with ar charitable eye* 
Our fellow feelings are never so tenderly alive/ 
as when they are mingled with a sense of our 
own weakness. The vain superiority, and dis- 
dainful hauteur, which characterize a considera- 
ble portion of mankind, are brought down in? 
those moments, when they dare to feel that? 
they are mortal. The slanderous tongue re- 
linquishes its cruel toil's during the seasons of 
disease. The busy hand of mischief is com- 
pelled to rest, when the thoughts of dissolution 5 
and eternity are allowed a residence in the mind* 
Should we select a man, who would be constant- 
ly awake to the cries of misery y who would 5 
heartily sympathize with the sons of sorrow ; 
who would faithfully befriend the character of 
the virtuous, our choice would not fall upon' 
one r who had never felt the impressions of frail- 
ty^ 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION, 



ty ; it would fall upon the man, who had tast- 
ed the cup of sorrow ; who had made the 
thoughts of dissolution the .familiar visitor of 
his solitary and devotional hours. 

The emancipated slave must visit in- memo- 
ry the horrours of the prison, and the toils of 
former servitude, in order to preserve from lan- 
guor the jbys of freedom-.- The refuge of the 
mariner loses its enrapturing enchantment the 
moment he forgets the dangers and distress,' 
from which he has escaped. The orphan must 
be referred to her early bereavements, and to 
the ravages of death, that she may supply in 
her heart the iricense-of gratitude before her 
God, and her mortar protector's.- Thus allied 1 
to mortality are the vivid and sustaining hopes 
of eternal life. When the former are expert 
enced under the influence of resignation, they 
rarely fail of awakening the latter into a pure 
and celestial fervour. Our love of Jesus de- 
rives its melting tenderness from impressions, 
tfeatare made from a view of the great empire 
of death. Gratitude glows in our bosoms, as 
we survey the sufferings and death of our 
Lord. If we visit the garden, in which he 
drank the cup of agony, and the mount on 
which he endured the pangs of dissolution y 
our love is kindled at every step y the worth, 7 
the glory and excellence are heightened in our 
estimation, in proportion to the sensibilities of" 
his amazing sufferings, and distressful deaths 
O! ye cold, dead, speculative believers, who 
forbear to travel on the mountains where the' 
Redeemer endured the cross, -and was assailed 

by 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



tby all the powers of death and hell ; have ye 
ever felt a supreme attachment and affectioa 
for your God ? Do the sentiments of mor- 
tality, and the sentence of condemnation, which 
hath passed upon all, lead you to appreciate 
the Lamb that was slain, as the chiefest among 
ten thousands and altogether lovely,? 

The scenes of mirth and gaiety are by no 
means favourable to useful impressions and ele- 
vated thoughts; ,Qur solitary moments are the 
best adapted to serious and useful exercises. 
When we assume an attitude of meditation oa 
the shore of the seas during the silence of the 
-evening, a train of sublime thoughts will rush 
upon the mind. It is struck with .the awe of 
immensity ; and, while listening to the voice of 
the waves, it considers that no one of them ex- 
pires on the strand, till it hath laved the bones 
,of the dead, that slumber in the caverns of the 
deep. When we pensively walk, over the dust 
of departed mortals, our minds are irresistibly 
referred to the morning of the resurrection 5 
when the trump of God shall call the dead 
.from the earth, and the sea; and innumerable 
.multitudes of human forms shall swarm into be- 
ing. If resignation have brought us into the 
reconciled countenance of the Divinity, these 
thoughts are no less consolatory than awfully 
sublime. They are allied with hopes, that sus- 
tain the soul, excite our vigilance, and animate 
our exertions in the service of the Creator. 
Far from causing us to disdain a transient life, 
they incline us to treat it as an endeared infant » 
to procure for it an asylum frpm guilt and ruin, 



m SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 



in the smiles of Jesus ; that, when it arrives to 
an immortal manhood, it may be found invest- 
ed with the immaculate robes of his righteous- 
ness. Our longings after immortality are sensi- 
bly experienced under the solemn views of dis- 
solving nature, and its reawakening at the call 
of the angel, when this corruptible shall put on 
incorruptibility, and this mortal immortality, 
and death, to the sons and daughters of resigna- 
tion shall be swallowed up in victory. 

To perpetuate the influence of example on 
our conduct, and to quicken our energies in 
virtuous pursuits, we often recur to the renown- 
ed benefactors of man, and seriously regard the 
anniversary solemnities of their death. We 
commemorate the dying love of our Redeemer, 
to secure from slumber a grateful sense of his 
triumphant mercy and matchless grace. It is 
highly probable, that the memory of the saints 
in glory will be much employed in retrospection 
upon the empire of mortality, under which they 
had once groaned, and upon the sufferings and 
death of Christ, that they may praise his name 
with increasing raptures of joy. 

To these ideas murmuring responses descend 
from the galleries of gaiety and mirthful plea- 
sure ; they are heard to exclaim, 1 the thoughts 
* of dissolution spoil our delights, diffuse an 
' awful melancholy on the mind. They make 
4 our hearts tremble, whenever they are forced 
c upon us, and like the haunting ghost of mur- 
' dered time, they make us dread to ; be left alone ! - 
Alas! they are wandering from their Creator, 
and have never been led by the influences of th$ 



SENTIMENTS on RESIGNATION. 225 



Spirit into the transporting light of Divine 
complacency. Resignation conducts her sanc- 
tified votaries, with patient and cheerful steps 
through this vale of tears ; she removes the 
depressing weight of sorrow from their hearts, 
procures them comforts from the most rugged 
paths of adversity, and edifies their souls and 
purifies their hearts, by all the repeated scenes 
of dissolution. She makes them partakers of 
a promise, that is paramount to an inheritance 
in Heaven; " All things shall work together 
" for your good j the world, life and death, and 
m things present, and things to come; all are 
" your's, and ye are Christ's and Christ's is 
God's." 




V 



Subscribers 5 Names. 



Thomas Abbot, York. 
Apollos Alaen, Belfast. 
Frithcis Anderson, do. 
W i i 1 i a m A r n ol d , C/i a r le s t o w n . 
Haflhah Adams, Medjield. 
William Andrews, Bostop } 3c. 
Sarah Appleton, do. 
Chester Adams, Char lest own. 
A. Adams, do. 
John Q. Adams, Cambridge. 
William Allen,' do. 
Samuel Adams, do. 
Bear sham Allen, York. 
Benjamin Adams, Uxbridgc. 
Elijah Allen, Wells. 
John Abbot, Brunswick. 
Cashing Allen, Bath! 
Horatio G. Alien, do. 
Samuel Adams, do. 
Willi am A spin wall, Boston. 
William Averell. 
jona. Aiken, Dartmouth Col. 
Benj Adams, Uxo ridge. 
B 

"Benjamin Buck, Buckstown. 
Ebenezer Buck, do. 
Caleb Brooks, do. 
F r Et n c i s B r o w n , JDa rt . Co lieg e . 
J. Buffam,jr. do. 
John Burnham, do. 
Z. Belknap, do. 
J. Bliss, do. 
John Brown, do. 
Horatio Buell, do. 
Octavia Brown, Portland. 
Robert Boyd, do. 



Thomas Buckminster, Saco, 

Robert Bragdon, Portland ,4cJ 

Jon a. Bradby, Claremont. 

Isaac Brigham, Miiford. 

Eben. Bosworth, JshforcL 

B. Bulla rd, Ux bridge , 2 cop. 

Joseph Bradbury Chesterville. 

Barnabas Bariol, Freehort. 

Samuel Bean, York. 

Rebecca Boylston, Brooklyn. 

Timothy Baker, York. 

David and Timothy, do. 5 c, 

David Baker, do/ 

Levi Bradish, Portland. 

Joseph V. Bacon. 

Joseph Bourn, Wells. 

David Bennet, York. 

William Billings, Uxbridge. 

Benjamin Blake, Men don. 

Eben. Baker, Mir ihb ridge. 

Jason Babcock, do. 

Stephen. Bruce, East/ioft. 

Jere. Bruce, Mac hi as. 

Benjamin Bourn, Wells. 
j Elizabeth Breton NewbutTtflt, 

Barnabas Birtol, Free/tort. 
I Enos Bishop," do. 
| George Bartol, do. 

Meriam Bragdon, York. 

E'ij ih BVaisdeJ, do. 

Alden Bradford, W icasset. 

Charles Burroughs Ca mbridge* 

Prince Seal, do. 

Moses Brown, Himhstead. 

William Brown,do . 2 cop. 

Eleanor Brown, do. 

Joseph Bailey, do. 



SUBSCRIBERS 5 NAMES. 



Daniel Beadle, York* 

David Bradbury, do. 

Joshua Bridges, do. 

Jos. Bartlett, Kittenj. 

John Burnham, Limerick, 

Josiah Bragdon, York. 

John Bartlett, Cambridge, Sz\ 

Isaac Brown, Aewburyfiort, 

Samuel Bay levy do. 

John Baker, Boston. 

Edward Blake do. 

Jona. Bay ley, Charlestown* 

Samuel Brewer, Boston. 

H. Be a?*, do. 

Mary Bean, do. 

Thomas Baldwin, do. 

William Biglow, do. 

Hathaniel Balch, do. 

William Brown, do. 2 copies, 

Samuel Brown, Belfast. 

Samuel Bradbury, York. 

Joseph Buckminster, Portsm. 

Charles Bean, York. 

Jona. S. Barrel!, do. 

Isaac Briggs, do. 

John Barrel!, do. 

Jacob Brown, JKcvj'buryfiort 

Stephen Brighan, Boston. 

Geo. Blanchard, do. 3 copies. 
William Brewer, Rojcburyi 
John Benson, Buckstovjn. 
. Reuben Brown, Concord. 
C 

John Cochran, Belfast. 
Edward Creamer, do. 
Thomas Cunningham, jr. do 
1 saac C -)rey, Clarkstown . 
William Collier, do. 
Hannah Crocker, Boston. 
Tho. M. Clark, Aewburyfiort 
David Coffin, do. 
George Connell, do. 
Zebedee Cook, do. 
Tristram Coffin, do. 
William Cook, do. 
Winchester Card, York. 
Daniel Carlisle, do. 



Jonas Clark, do. 2 copies;" 
E. Cotton, Boston, 2 do. 
Jona Cogswell, Cambridge. 
Benaiah Clark, Wells. 
John Cushing, Freefiort. 
Francis Cook, Wiscasset: 
Charles Coffin Acwbury. 
Nathl. Chamberlain Lebanon, 
Jesse Churchill, Concord, 10 c. 
Edward Cutts, Kittenj, 2 c. 
John C apron, Ux bridge. 
Amariah Chapir, do. 
Joseph B. Caldwell, Grafton, 
John Crane, Aorthbridge. 
Timothy Craggin, Douglass v 
Matthew Cobb, Portland. 
Sarah Colbey. 
Samuel Clark, Kilt cry, 
C . CofHn , Brunswick . 
Nathaniel Coffin, Bath. 
J. Crooker, do. 
T. W. Crooker. 
Margaret S. Clark, York; 
Ji PL Church, Pelliam. 
John dishing, Freefiort. 
Isaiah Cushing, Thomaston. 
John Cutting, Wolfs borough: 
Josiah Clark, York. 
Asa Clap, Portland, 2 copies,* 
Daniel Cleaves, Biddeford, 
James Curry, Saco, 
W'm. S. Chappel, York, 
Samuel Curtis, Wells, 
Eliza Clap, Portland, 
Jason Chamberlain sen. Hol~ 

lis ton, 2 copies, 
M. Cobb, do. 2 copies. 
W'm. Crowford, Dart. Coll. 
Ichabod Chadbourne, -do. 
Joseph Cole, Buckstown, 
Jason Chamberlain, Holliston, 
Samuel Chandler, Kittery, 
Parker Cleaveland, Brims- 
vjick, 

Elias Chinney, Thomas ton, 
Chauncey C. Chandler Belfast 
Martin Cutler, Holiiston^ 



SUBSCRIBERS* NAME&. 



Tho. Davenport, Plollowell, 
Timo. Dickinson, Holliston, 
Geo. Donnell, Aewbury/iort, 
Samuel Dean, Portland, 
Oliver Dustin, Dart, Colleges 
E. Darling, Buckstown^ 
Daniel Daniels, Holliston, 
Tho. P. Davis, Brunswick, 
Samuel Davis, Boston, 
Calvin Dean, Uxbridge, 
Henry Donnell, York, 
Mercy Donnell, do. 
Jotham Donnell, do. 
Joseph Dane, do. 
v John Durham, Belfast, 
Andrew Derby, do. 
William Durham, do, 
Eben. Door, Boston. 10 cop. 
Daniel Dane, JS/exuburyfwri, 
Hozea Dodge, Charleston 
Richard Devens, do. 
Win. Dall, Boston, 3 copies, 
James Dorrancfc, Wells, 
Thomas Dyer, Saco, 
John. Dennet, Portland, 
Ward C. Dean, Exeter. 
E 

William Emerson, Boston, 
Asa Eaton, do. 
Benjamin Eaton, do. 
William Eaton, do. 
James Ellison, do. 
VVJ.. Emerson, do. 
MSry Edmonds, Charlestown, 
Buckeley Emerson, York, 
N i c-h ol a s E m e r y , Pa rs o nfi eld , 
Oliver Emerson, Mathewen 
Mary Emerson, JK'cwburyfit. 
Samuel Emerson, U/iton, 
Samuel D. Ellis, Tofisham. 
Samuel Emerson, Wells, 
Samuel Emerson, Aewbury/it 
Abigail Emerson, York. 
F 

Benjamin Floyd, Portsmouth 
loshua Furbish, Wells, 
U2 



Francis Freeman, Portland, 
Luther Fitch Dart. College^ 
John Farnum, York, 
Thomas Frost, Bath, 
John Frost, Kittenj, 
Edward Fairfield, Harlem, 
Daniel Fowls, do. 
Andrew Frothingham, New 

bury/tort, 
James Fletcher, Aorthbrzdge, 
Mary Frothingham, A'civbu- 

ry/wrt, 
William Frost, Portland, 
John Fanar, Cambridge, 
Levi Fusbic, do] 
William Frost, York, 
Betsey H. Furnace, do, 
Robert Foilet, Kittery^ 
H. W. Fuller, Augusta, 
Juo. D. Furber J\croburyfiovt, 
David Fosdick, C/iarlestown, 
JamesH. Foster, Boston, 
Bohan P. Field, Belfast, 
Jacob Fisher, Wells, 
Samuel Freeman, Portland2c. 
Stephen Fenster, do. 
T. Fanar, Dart 0 College, 
Jabes B. Fisher, York. 

G 

Oliver Greenleaf, Boston, Sc. 
David Goodwin Charleston^ 
Edward Goodwin, do. 
Jonathan Gilman, do, 
Benjamin Gage, do. 
Jacob Greenleaf, Acwbun//a. 
Stephen Gore, Boston, 10 c. 
Samuel Gore, Poxbury, 
Jere. Gore, Boston, 10 copies., 
Josiah Gilman, York, 
Hannah Grow, do. 
James Grant, do. 
Dorcas Gerrish, do. 
Ichabod Goodwin, Berwick, 
George Griffin, J\e%vbury t 
Joshua Greenleaf, 
Timothy Greenjr, Boston^ 



SUBSCRIBERS 1 NAMES. 



Daniel Gooden, York, 
John Giles, N. Port, 
Nicholas Oilman, Wells, 2cJ 
Stephen C. Greene, Uxbridge 
James Gow, Hollowell, 
Eliphalet Giilet, ditto, 
Susan Greenleaf, Port land) 
Isaac Gage, do. 
Joseph Grant, 
Stephen Geliison, Berwick, 
Dorathy R. Gilpatrick, Wells, 
Eliza Gilpatrick, do. 
Isaac Gardner, Brooklyn, 
Geo. Grennell, jr. Dart Coll. 
Daniel Granger, Saco, 
James Genu, Bucks town, 
H 

W'm. Hart, Portsjiiouih. 
Richard Hart, do. 
Jona. Heartweily do. 
Samuel Hill, do. 
William Harmon, York) 
Josephus Howard, ditto, 
Rufus Handerun, Claremon, 
Noah Hooper, Biddefo.rd r 
Joseph Hunskum, Saco, 
Jon. Hunt, Dart, College , 
John Hubbard, do. 
Abijah How, do. 
James Hawks, do. 
Abraham Hoommet, Bath, 
Jonathan Hyde, do. 
David Harding, jr. Goreham, 
T. M. H?.vvis y DorchesterlOo, 
Jonathan Huse, Warren, 
Eliza Heath, Brooklyn, 
Eliza Hyslop, Roxbnry, 2 c 
Otis Holbrook, Uxbridge, 
Moses Hall, Portland, 
Jonathan Hayward, Ufitcn. 
Seth Hastings, Mention, 
John Hancock, Boston. 
Persis Holmes, do. 
G. W. Hoppin, Providence. 
Sayward Hobbs, Wells. 
Henry Hart, do. 
Isaac Hasey, Lebanon. 
John Harris, York* 



Joseph Hill, Wells. 
Levi Hedge, Cambridge. 
Isaac Hurd, do. 
Joseph Hurd, Charleston^ 2c/ 
Joseph Hurd, j tin. 
J. Hastings, Boston. 
Hannah Harmon, York. 
Olive Harmon, do. 
Samuel Hauston, jun. Belfast. 
Aaron C. Hadley, do. 
John Huse, do. 
Jonathan Hone, Charlestown* 
Mary Howard, do. 
John Hovey, do. 
John A. Hyde, Freeflort* 
John Hill, Kittery. 
George Hammond, do. 
Joseph Hammond, do. 
Ellas Hull, SeabrooM 
Lithgow Hunter, Brunswick: 
Ed w a r d li a ga n , J\ e ivb u ryfi ori 
Isaag Hurd, Concord. 
Moses Hemmenway, Wells.Zc 
Uriah Howardf Mitford^ 2 c. 

Jos. Ingraham, Portland^ 5- c . 
Daniel Ingalls, Boston. 

Gera Jenkins, Charleston?!. 
E 1 e a z e r J o 1 i n s o n , A e w b u r yfi o r t 
James Jewet, Portland, 2 c. 
Christopher Jez. do. 
Daniel Johnson, Castine. 
Thomas Jackson, Woolswich, 
Enoch Jones, Bat/i. 
William Jenks, do. 
Nathaniel Jeffords, Welle. 
Sally Jenkins, York. 
Ettas Jacobs, 'Wells. 
Nicholas Johnson, Newfyfiatt. 
William Jones, Chariest own. 
John Johnson, Vassalborough* 
Moses Judhim, Boston. 
Nath'l Jackson, Portsmouth^ 
K 1 

John W. Kimball, Dart. Coll, 
Richard Kimball, do. 
Jutham Kimball, Wells* 



SUBSCRIBERS* XTA -MES, 



lames Kimball, do 
Benjamin Kingsley, 
Amos Knight, Aewbu-y 
Jonathan Ketteil, Chdrlesto 
Andrew Ketteil, do. 
Samuel Kidder, do. 
Henry Knox, Thomaston. 
William King, Bath, 
Lanson Kingsbury, Dart. Coll. 
Anthony Kti'dp^A'ewbui'yflort, 
John Keyes, Dart. College. 
L 

Mary Lord, Berwick. 
%l, Lunt, York. 
James Lewis, Dart. Coll. 
Joseph Lee, Buckstown. 
Stephen Longfellow, Goreham, 
John P. Little, do. 
John L*pis, Brooklyn. 
Asa Lyman, Bath. 
Caleb Lincoln, do; 
Jerom Loring, do. 
J. P. Lord, Portsmouth'. 
Loam mi Littlefield, Holliston, 
Isaac Lincoln, To/isham. 
John Leighton, Kittery, 
Ebenezer Libby, Portland. 
Theodore Littlefield, York. 
Jacob Littlefield, Wells. 
David Legoo, Lebanon. 
Samuel B. Littlefield, Wells. 
Augusta Lyman, York. 
Skipper Lunt, do. 
Isaac Lyman, Portsmouth, 
Samuel Lunt, jun. York. 
Theodore Lyman, Bostonfic 
Joseph P. Lark], Belfast, 
Andrew Leach, do. 
John Lathrop, Boston. 
Amos D. Lindsey, do. 
James Locke, JVewbury/wrt, 
Jacob Little, do. 
Joseph Lovekin, Frecjiort^ 
John l*o\\,JYells, 
Isaac LymJfti, York, 
Joseph Litchfield, Kittery, 
Timothy Lyman, York } 



M 

eph M'Keen, do, 

r^bner Morse, Medivay, 

Israel Munroe, Boston, 

Jedediah Morse. Charleston 1 ^ 

John Murry, do. 

John March, J\e%vburij/iortj 

William Moody, Belfast 3 

Stephen Mitchel, do. 

Samuel Moody, York, 

Robert R. Moody, do. 

George Moulton, do. 

Daniel Moulton, do, 

Thomas Moulton, do* 

Prentiss Milien, do, 

Nancy Moor, do. 
Hannah Moulton, do. 
Benjamin Merrill, 
Nahum Morrill, Welh } 
Persis Moulton, York, 
Leonard Morse, Freep.ort^ 
Barak Maxell, Wells, 
Silas Moody, do. 
Susanna McCowley, York, 
Daniel Messinger, Boston, 3cV 
James Maxell, Wells, 
Ebenezer Moulton, Boston, 
William Moulton, JK'ewburyfi* 
Levi Mills, do. 
Ichabod Marrs, Berwick. 
Joel Morrill, Kittery, 
Charles Messinger, Holliston, 
Wm, Messenger, Wrentham^ 
William Mason, Castine, 
Caleb Marsh, Bath, 
John Marsh, do. 
Nicholas L. Mitchell, Ao. 
Jacob Milien, Holliston, 
James Merrill, Boston, 
Rums Moulton, Buckstown? 
James Morrison, Dart. Coll,- 
Absalouf P. Morse, do. 
David MighiH, do. 
Moses Moody, do, 
Eliza McLellan, Portland) 
Abigail McLellan, ditto, 
Jacob Millar, HollistQu^ 



SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES; 



Thomas Moore, Clavemon % 
Joel Matthews, ditto, 
William Miitamore, A. Cas- 

co, 2 cop. 
Wm. McLelian, Portland fiz t 
J. Morrill, Biddeford, 
John Marsh, Portsmouth, 
N 

James Nesmith, Belfast, 
Joseph Nqys, Aewbury, 
Peter Nurse, Cambridge , 
Ichabod Nichols, ditto, 
E. Nichols, Brunswick, 
Joseph Norton, 
Jeremiah Noys, Gore ham, 
P, Newton, Dartmouth Coll. 
Levi Newcomb, do. 
Ann Noys, Portland, 
O 

Mary O'Neil, York* 3 copies. 
Daniel Oliver, Boston, 
P 

A. Parker, Dresden, 2 cop. 
Samuel Payne, York, 
Ebenezer Preble, do. 
EUas Prsrtt, Oxford, 
Joseph B. Pittes, ILcbridge, 
L. H. Prentice, JSt or thb ridge, 
Willard Pi •eston, 

Martha Pearson, JSenvburyp. 
Lucy Pearson, ditto, 
Mary Pearson, ditto, 
Nicholas Pike, ditto, 
E'z'ekiei Prince, ditto, 
J. Prince, ditto, 
Esaias Preble, York, 
Sally Pugsley, Sanford, 
James Pnlil ips, Boston, 3 cop 
George Pftsberry, ditto, 
Rebecca Parker, ditto, 
Rucben Porter, Dart. Coll. 

B. Parks, ditto, 
Leonard M. Parker, ditto, 

A 1 exan der Pe rki ns, Cla remon, 
Eli as Phinney, Thomas ton, 
Amos Patten, Bangor, 
Humphry C. ftV\ey } Meihmn 3 



J. C. Pray, Wells, 
Edward II. Page, Bath, 
Joseph Perkias, Castine % 
Elias Parkman, Milford^ 
Enoch Pond, shhford, 
Noah Paine, ditto, 
James T. Ponffret, 
Nathan Parker, Reading, 
James Paul, Kittery, 
Stephen Patten, ditto," 
Daniel Peirce, ditto, 
Reuben Page, Vassalborough^ 
Pt iscilla Phillips, Boston, 2 c. 
Octavius Plummer, ditto, 
Thomas Powars, ditto, 
Theodore P. Piummer, ditto, 
John Perry? ditto, 
Matthew Parker, ditto,' 
Leonard M. Parker, ditto, 
Turner Phillips. dilo, 2 c, 
A, H. Putnam, Chariest own, 
Charles Peirce, PojHsmoutk* 
Samuel Porter, Freefiort, 2 c* 
John U. Parsons, ll'ells, 
Isaac Pope, ditto, 
Susanna Parsons, York, 
Mary Phillips, ditto, 
Abner Perkins, ditto, 
John Pell, ditto, 
Joseph Parsons, ditto, 
Susanna Preble, ditto, 
Robert Patterson, jun. Belfast, 
Robert Patterson, 4th, ditto, 
John Pearson, A ewbury/iort, 
Richard Pike, ditto, 
Samuel Penniman, Miljord, , 
Eliza Porter, Tofisham, 
Q 

Moses Quimbv, Brunswick, 
R 

K a nn a h Read i ng, Cha rlesto wn 
Daniel Richards, Xevjburyfit. 
Elliot Raynes, York, 
Hannah R;iynes, ditto, 
Daniel Raynea, ditto, 
Elizabeth Raynes, ditto, 
William Roberts, ditto, 



SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. 



John Rankin, Wells, 
Samuel Read, Uxbridge, 
Daniel Rogers, jun. Ipswich 
Elijah Robinson, Vassalbcf 
Josiah Remick, Kittery, 
Nathaniel Rogers, ditto, 
Sally A. E. Rice, ditto, 
Joshua Rogers, Portland^ 
Wra. Richardson, Brunsnvicl 
Samuel Rogers, Woolwich^ 
Joshua Raynes, Bath, 
Josiah Reed, Tho?iiaston, 
Otis Robbins, ditto, 
Toppan Robie, Gorehajn, 
John Richards, Dart. College. 
Joseph Rogers, ditto, 
Ezra Ripley, Concord, 
D. B. Ripley, Boston, 
Samuel Rogers, ditto, 
Ptiter Ripley, ditto, 10 cop 
Aaron Rockwood, Medway, 
William T. Rowland, Exete? , 
Ephraim Robinson, ditto,' 
S 

Jahaziah Shaw, Bucks town, 
M a 1 1 h e w 3 k i 1 1 o n , Cha ? ■ le s t o w n , 
Jonas Stetson, ditto, 
John Stinson, Woohvich, 
Anne Smith, Portland, 
Alary Storer, ditto, 
. Catharine Storer, ditto, 
Eliza Stevens, ditto, 
David Smith, ditto, 
Jeremiah W. Smith, ditto, 
John Smith, Dart. College, 
Roswell Shutliff, ditto, 
Nathan Smith, ditto, 
C. Storn, ditto, 
Joseph J. Svlvester, ditto, 
Amos Spauiding, ditto, 
John Scott, ditto, 
Jotham Sewall, Chesterville, 
James Sewall, Bath, 
David Shaw, ditto, 
Joseph Stockbridge, ditto, 
Peleg Sprague, ditto, 
Nathaniel Sprague, ditto. 



L. Stevens, Claremon, 
William Stover, York, 
Samuel Seward, ditto* 
Moses Sewall, ditto, 
Mary Swett, ditto, 
Daniel Swett, ditto, ' 
Israel Smith, ditto* 
Daniel Sewall, ditto, 
Nathaniel Simpson, ditto> 
A» Stewart, ditto, 
J.'H. Sargent, ditto, 
Nancy Sedgely, ditto, / 
Lydia Savage, ditto, 
Timothy Simpson, ditto? 
William Stacy, ditto, 
David Sewall, ditto, 
John Swett, ditto, 
Hannah Simpson, ditto, 
Ebenezer Simpson, ditto, 
Daniel Simpson, ditto, 
Elias Standish, Goreham, 
Alexander Savage", Bangor, t 
copies, 

Aclolphus Spving.A'orth bridge 
John Storer, Wells, 
Nathaniel Sawyer, ditto, 
Benjamin Smith, ditto, 
Hon. Caleb Strong, Aorth* 

am fit on, 3 cop. 
Eunice Stone, J\ewbury/wrt s 
Samuel Spring, ditto, 
Paul Simpson, ditto, 
Joseph Smith, ditto, 
Ebenezer Savoy, Hamstead 9 
Caleb Smith, Belfast, 
Samuel Still man, Boston, 
Elizabeth Sumner, ditto, 4 c, 
Samuel Spear, ditto, 
Nathaniel Smith, jYewbury 9 
James Swett, ditto, 
Isaac Stone, ditto, 
Stephen Sewall, Portsmouth^ 
Jacob Sheafe, ditto, 
Thomas Sheafe, ditto, 2 cop, 
Mary Savage, Roxbury, 
W T illiam Storrs, Ashford, 
Samuel Summer, ditto/ 



SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES. 



Ports- 
ditto,. 



Solender Spalden, ditto, 
Depend. Shapleigh, Kittery, 
Samuel Shapleigh, ditto, 
John Sewall, Hallowell,. 
Moses Smith, Uxbridge, 
T 

Richard Tauny, Biddeford, 
Sarah Tilden, Bosto?i, 2 cop 
David Tilden, ditto, 
B. P. Tilden, ditto, 
Benjamin Thompson, ditto, 
William Tenney, Dart. Coll, 
James Tebbets, Berwick, 
John Thomson, 
Abner Taylor, Bangor ', 
Joseph Trott, Bald, 
Thomas Trott, ditto, 
Robert Trivett, ditto, 
William , Creadwell, 

mouthy 2 cop. 
Thomas & Tappan, 
Stephen Tukey, Portland, 
Joseph Titcomb, ditto, 
Bezaleel Taft, jun. Uxbridge, 
Eastman Tatt, jun. 
Thomas Townsend, Ncwfiort 
Tho m a 3 Tho mpsGii^l t wo ury - 

..fiort, 
Hannah Tappan, ditto, 
Benjamin Tappan, ditto, 
Joseph Toppan, ditto, 
Mary Talpey, YQt% 
'Mary Tucker, ditto, 
Joseph In o mas, Wtlls, 
Stephen Thaver, Unity, 
Francis Todd, N. Port, 
Amos Tufts, Char It st own, 
U . 

George Uimer, Lincolnviile, I Samuel West, 
V 

Bol 0 man Var r el , York, 

Johil Varrel, ditto, j William Wve--, 

W I John Wood jun. 

David Wiilard, Bart. College Edmond Wingate, 
Daniel Weils, ditto, 1 Joseph Wheelemar, 

George Weeler, ditto, town, 
John Wheelock, ditto, j D. West, Boston, 



Levi Woodbury, ditto, 
Ebenezer Wright, Claremon, 
Jabez Woodman, N. Glouces- 
ter, 

Henry Wood, B. College, 
Gilbert Warren, Berwick, 
Edward Wood, Bath, 
William Webb, ditto, 
5 ccp.| Liberty Whipple, Holliston, 
5 cop. Josiah W T are, Wrentham, 

Independence Whipple, Ux* 

. bridge, 
Samuel Wiilard, ditto, 
Peter White, ditto, 
Jph n W oc d man ,. Po >* 1 lan d, 
Samuel Watsest, ditto, 
Samuel Weeks, ditto, 
Jeremiah We a re, York, 
Joseph Wear, ditto, 
Abigail Wear, ditto, 
John Wear, ditto, 
Michael Wilson, ditto, - 
Noah Wells, ditto, ^ 
Joseph Wiggin, Exeter, 
Michael Wn\&^twburv/:QYt 
Thomas & Whipple, ditto, • 
Aaron Wheel right, Weils, \ 
Daniel Winn» jun. ditto, 
Dependence Wells, ditto, 
Samuel Wells, dittCy 
David Wiilcox, Eiitery* 
Samuel Webber, Cambridge 
Henry Ware 5 , . ditto, 
Benjamin Waterhouse, ditto, 
Thorn as Whittle r, j mi . Be/fast, 
William West, ditto, 
Jonathan Wilson, ditto, 
Henry Williams, Boston, 
ditto, 

Dixev Wilds, ditto, 
Abra. Wheelwright, N. Port, 
ditto, 
ditto, 
ditto, 
Charles* 

5 com 



SUBSCRIBERS' NAMES, 

Benjamin Wood, Ufiton, j Lydia Young, York> 
J. C. W ashburne, Fairfax , j Jonathan Young, ditto> 
John White, Concord, 10 cop. 1 Joseph Young, ditto, 
H ? H. Williams, Chelsea, Jabez Young, ditto, 
Y Samuel Young, ditto, 

Thomas Young, Belfast, 



^ Several hundred copies which were known to be sub*' 
scribed for, were not returned in season for the names to bg 
Inserted, 



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Treatment Date: Nov. 2005 

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